Yet Another World
by Acerze
Summary: Reincarnation is something that Rudeus Greyrat is quite intimate with. After all, he'd been given a second chance to make up for all of his first life's failures. So when his second life ended, he thought it'd be all over. To his surprise and consternation, he's found himself reborn again, in yet another new world. Now what?
1. Prologue: Journey's End

**Re-Upload Note:**

Behold, proper categories!

Thanks for coming by, and sorry for the trouble. I believe that the new categories will make this story easier to find, since as far as I know no one calls Mushoku Tensei "Another World". And that's the wrong translation anyways, since Mushoku Tensei means "Jobless Reincarnation".

You can expect Chapter 1 within a week or so, so look forward to it!

* * *

 **Original Author's Note:**

Hey there! Now, I know I've been dead for quite a while now, but you can check my profile for how I'm planning to approach my writing from now on. I also humbly beg for forgiveness from the followers I've managed to accrue on my older stories.

So let's talk about this fic. I like RWBY, I like the setting, and I like the characters. The plot's decent too. So it's no wonder that I'd want to write a fic with RWBY involved. I'm assuming you found this fic because you were checking RWBY crossovers, so I'm going to assume that you also know what RWBY is.

Then there's Mushoku Tensei, the series I'm crossing over with RWBY. I'll just say right now, it's quite literally my favorite series of all time. I want it to be more popular, and I'm assuming most of the people reading this are probably not familiar with the series.

It's an "isekai" story, meaning "another world" in Japanese, which is currently one of the most overused genres in Japanese media these days. But I think it's one of the best of that genre, playing to all its strengths while minimizing its weaknesses. The story also goes into other topics that light novels typically don't approach. This includes: having a self-aware main character that isn't a complete blockhead. A more realistic approach to some harem-like aspects of stories (and romance in general), where the feelings of both the guy and girls involved are analyzed and carefully looked at. And just actually seeing the main character truly mature and develop all throughout the story.

TL;DR - Mushoku Tensei is a story about a reincarnated man, following him from birth (literally) to death (also literally). It reads a bit like an autobiography, and I think it's one of the most interesting iterations of Japanese fantasy stories. This fic takes place after the end of the series though, so if you're picky about spoilers, this is my warning.

This prologue is meant to introduce you to the main character of Mushoku Tensei. It's essentially a rewritten version of the official epilogue made into a prologue. I had fun with the bonus segments at the end too, so I hope you enjoy.

Please, let me know what you think and what improvements you'd like to see made. My main concern is that the prologue is too confusing. It's meant to pique interest, not explain the whole plot of Mushoku Tensei, but still...let me know what you think!

* * *

 **Yet** **Another World**

 **Prologue: Journey's End**

I faced him one last time.

Actually, I'm not even sure if it was a 'him' in any normal sense. I could never see it clearly no matter how many times I met it through my life. Just a mosaic-covered being, surrounded by endless white in a dimension I could never truly understand. A being I only met in my dreams, whenever he summoned me as I slept.

My enemy. The being that wanted to take everything from me. It called itself Hitogami, the "Human God". My family, my friends, my home, my life...Hitogami wanted to break them down and watch them burn.

But…

I couldn't hate him, not now at least. It's been 40 years since I last saw him, 40 years since his plans had failed and I had triumphed.

Maybe it's that saying, the one that goes "absence makes the heart grow fonder"?

I'm just kidding.

No, I think it's because I understand him. Our very existences forced us to be enemies. I hadn't known that before. I was a human, and he was a god. So why was he trying so hard to ruin the life of a lower being like me?

But one of Hitogami's abilities was to see into the future, and doing so he saw me. By coming to this world, I'd changed it, and these changes would be the first wind in the storm that "kills" him far in the future. So he tried to end me.

I...would do the same. I did do the same. My conflict with him ended a long time ago, but I know he hasn't given up. After all, I was just the beginning of his downfall.

"I wanted to tell you something before."

I found myself speaking my thoughts out loud. It wasn't like I had anything to lose. I was dead. I lived a fulfilling life, not just for others but for myself. And in the end, I passed away at the age of 74 surrounded by my lovely family. It was a life I could safely say that I had no regrets leaving the way it is.

Maybe that's why I can think and talk with such clarity even when confronting my mortal enemy.

"...What?" I could pretty much hear the snarl in Hitogami's voice. Actually, it's strangely perplexing that an incomprehensible being like him could also be so easy to read.

This last meeting with him wasn't an accident. It wasn't some last vestige of my consciousness experiencing a final vision. He brought me back to meet him again, just like all those other times. Just like when he lied and pretended to guide me when I was just a child. Just like when he tried to convince me that if I helped him instead, then he would have no reason to destroy my life, my new family and home. Just like when he growled and threatened me as I came closer to triumphing, as I fought for my children and everyone else waiting for me. Just like the last time, when he finally admitted his defeat, as the last of his plans crumbled away into nothing.

Yes, there was definitely a reason. He brought me here this time to try and gloat that now that I was dead, I couldn't mess with him anymore.

It was pointless, though.

I trusted in the future. I trusted in everything I'd built. Besides, it was all out of my hands now. I'm dead, there's nothing I could possibly do. So for what reason would I give in to his gloating?

When he'd realized he couldn't get a rise out of me, he became agitated. That's when I decided to say these words to him.

"I think I don't really hate you that much."

A small part of me was surprised. I knew what he tried to do. He killed my dear mentor and wife. He got my best friend killed when we all tried to save her. He drove me into despair, making me push everyone close to me away, alienating them for good. And it all ended with my life in shambles, my loved ones dead, my home destroyed, and my spirit crushed. And that was just the surface of what he tried to do.

But I stopped it. None of that ever ended up happening. That might be why I could say what I said. Because what he tried to do to me, was what was going to happen to him, at least from his perspective.

I really don't think beings like him raised families and fell in love like we humans, though.

So...was I feeling something like pity for him? Maybe...

"What are you trying to say…?" He sounded suspicious of me. I felt like he'd made an unpleasant face once I spoke.

"I don't really understand, but I think it's thanks to you that I can be so calm right now."

"...Even if you say that, I won't let my guard down." He bluntly proclaimed his desire to continue resisting until the end. I couldn't blame him.

"Ah...no...well, that wasn't my intention…" I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly.

Then why did I say it? I don't really know. It wasn't that I came to like him. I'd never even consider giving him my thanks. After all, if he hadn't interfered, my life probably would've still been just as satisfying and fulfilling.

And without the fighting demon lords and gods.

We fell into silence after that. After several moments in that uncomfortable atmosphere I was struck with a sudden thought.

"I wonder why I came to this world." I muttered aloud. I'm sure the face I was making was one of slightly amused pondering.

"I don't know." Hitogami muttered in response. It sounded like he really wanted to know the answer. Heh, of course he wanted to know.

But I had a few ideas of my own.

In truth, this was my second life, born into a fantasy-like world with magic and swords. It was my second chance, after I wasted away my first life on 21st century Earth until there was nothing left.

A piece of garbage like me didn't deserve another chance. That's what I would currently say about my old self. That loser that didn't do anything, complained, and died having a pitiful 34 years of life. But for some reason I got that second chance. My first life, with a name I left deep within my memories, faded, and I became Rudeus Greyrat.

So for whatever or whoever gave me this chance, I'd want to give them my thanks. I'd shake their hand up and down as hard as I could, and then more.

Reborn, I'd resolved to live my life carefully and correctly, and with all the effort I could possibly put forth. It was actually a lot harder than those novels and anime would have you think, you know. But I did it. For 74 years, more than twice as long as my first life, I made up for it.

Eh?

Wait a second.

What happens now? I think I lived a good life, one that more than makes up for my first one. So am I actually going to die for real now?

The thought didn't scare me much. I wonder why.

Oh.

It's contentment. Plain and simple.

I marvelled at the clarity of my thoughts once more. I felt better than I ever had in a long time. It seems I was going senile by the time I died; the thought of that almost made me laugh.

"Do you really not know anything?" I prodded him. I was sure a god would have some knowledge of how I reincarnated as a baby in this world.

"If I knew, I would've stopped this from happening," Hitogami replied venomously. "You came out of thin air, I didn't even realize it until long after."

"Hmm…" I rubbed my chin thoughtfully, "Well, If there ever comes another reincarnated guy like me, then please give him my regards."

"Like hell I will." It was a flat response this time. His grudge runs deep, I see. I guess it's because he still has to live on, after all.

I shrugged.

"So what happens to me now?" I asked questioningly.

"Well, let's see." Hitogami seemed to look at me with irritation, "The soul decomposes into mana. I'm sure you understand, but mana is everywhere so you become one with the world again. But since you're from another world, I don't know if that's what will happen to you."

"Ah, I understand." I reply evenly.

It was a bit disappointing. I was hoping to see my father, Paul, again, or perhaps my old friend/hated enemy Gisu. Oh well. It's enough that my remains are to be buried with them. I lost myself in reminiscence for a few moments, my mind occupied with thoughts of the people who moved on before me.

And now I felt myself fading. It looks like my time here is up.

"Tch…" Hitogami clicked his tongue. He was frustrated, of course. The things I did in my life laid the foundation to bring him down. And he couldn't even vex me with the knowledge that I was dead.

Somehow, I found myself laying a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't think I'm in the right position to say this but…" I grinned widely, "Do your best from now on."

He didn't actually respond. He stopped moving entirely. I couldn't feel any emotion, so he might have sealed himself off already. Cut the connection, so to speak.

Shaking my head, I looked around one last time. Everything was the same. Endless white, endless nothing. I couldn't help but continue wondering what was next for me.

Would I become mana and become one with nature? That didn't sound too bad.

Would I return to my first world? I...probably wouldn't mind, but there would be some painful memories brought back. And I doubt there are as many beautiful girls within reach as here.

And lastly...would I still have my memories?

Those questions would be answered soon, I suppose. I turned back to Hitogami. I felt that he was still here, even if he didn't say anything.

"See ya."

Then the white dimension faded away until I was surrounded by darkness.

Without Hitogami there to occupy my mind, my thoughts shifted to the three most important people in my life: My wives. Sylphiette, Roxy, and Eris Greyrat.

Now, it was never my intention, no matter what future biographers or scholars might say, to marry more than one girl. Life just wasn't as simple as that harem genre of entertainment I used to enjoy so much in my first life. I wasn't stupid. As much as I appreciate beautiful girls, the thought of betraying the feelings of those who loved me was worse than death in my opinion.

It was a combination of circumstances, understanding, and effort that brought us all together. And I'm blessed that it all worked out.

Truly, truly, blessed... I could almost feel the tears running down my face as I thought about them.

Sylphy. My first wife. I could still see her lovely smile, those shining red eyes that contrasted so well with her shoulder-length snowy white hair, and of course, her adorable pointed ears, courtesy of her elven grandmother. If it weren't for her, I never would've been able to anchor myself in this new life. I would never have been able to work towards my goals in such a concrete way. I owe her everything for being there right from the start. No matter where I went, what I did, who I met, she was always at home, waiting for my return. She was the root of my life, the beginning of all that I accomplished during my time in this world.

Roxy. My second wife. A small Migurdian girl, by all accounts, but stunningly attractive with her sapphire eyes that matched perfectly with her braided ocean-colored hair. She actually began as a teacher to me. We met when I was just a toddler, but because of the Migurd race's lifespan, I quickly outgrew her as the years passed. But it was her guidance to my younger self that shaped me into who I am today. I can say with absolute confidence that without her, I never would've met Sylphy and began my journey. I never would've become the man that ended up stealing Roxy's heart. Not only that, but Roxy saved me again in one of the darkest, most horrible times in my life. It shames me to say it, but the comfort she provided me at that time was an act of betrayal to Sylphy, one that I did nothing to stop.

It was after that that I resolved to take responsibility, then realized that my family might have to grow. I just couldn't shatter Roxy's heart and leave her, I couldn't just choose one of them over the other. I can only blame myself for my weakness, and thank both Sylphy and Roxy for their kindness and understanding.

And of course there was Eris. A human like me, a girl with long crimson hair and eyes that screamed of power and confidence. Despite being my third wife, she was actually my first love. We were comrades, and we traveled together long before I had any thoughts of starting a family. But due to a misunderstanding when we went our separate ways, I gave up on her. I loved her, but I thought she'd never return those feelings, so I left them behind.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Eris actually wanted to become stronger, hoping to continue fighting by my side. She used her own love for me as a pillar of strength for many years while we were separated. While I nursed a (unintentionally) broken heart, she continued to train, sweat, and bleed for my sake. I couldn't believe that after she learned about how I moved on without her, how I betrayed her, that she was still willing to stand by my side to fight against Hitogami and his minions. But she did. And I found that no matter how I'd tried, my own buried feelings were still there. Despite our differences, awkwardness, and general miscommunications, there was no longer any doubt between us.

Surprisingly, bringing Eris into the family was pretty smooth. It's a bit weird to say, but once we reached the count of two, three wasn't much of a shock. Maybe Sylphy, and by extension, Roxy, had already come to expect something like that from me? When I thought that, I completely realized just how generous and accepting they were. It only strengthened my resolve to protect not only them, but everyone else close to me.

Anyways, as I said before, Hitogami was my mortal enemy in life. He'd told me that my descendants would cause his death, and that's why he plotted to destroy me. There was no way in hell that was a good enough reason for me. But he was a mysterious interdimensional being, so I was at a loss.

At first, he reassured me that I just had to defeat his other mortal enemy, the Dragon God, Orsted, then he'd have no reason to fight me. But after I tried, I realized that Orsted was the one I should follow. He was the one that could protect my family from Hitogami. I didn't really care who was "right" or who was "wrong", I just wanted to keep my family safe. In hindsight, it was the right choice. There are few people I trusted more than Orsted at the time of my death.

Even with a powerful being like Orsted on my side, it wasn't easy. Hitogami had his minions, called Apostles, powerful people whose names were also spoken in awe and wonder throughout the world. For reference, Orsted was the second strongest being in the world. But the rank 3, 6, and 7 were on Hitogami's side. Regardless, I still betrayed him, because Hitogami just wasn't trustworthy. I couldn't bring myself to have any confidence in him, not after I knew what he had planned to do to me. I threw in my lot with Orsted, and gave everything I had into his crusade against Hitogami.

Our fight against Hitogami took up many years of my life, but all throughout, the women I loved were there for me. Without fail.

Sylphy, Roxy, and Eris saw something in me that made me worth their love. Something that made me worth sharing with others in their eyes, as strange to others as that may be. I still don't know what that thing was, so I could only return those favors a million times over. The three of them were the foundations of my strength, my reason for fighting. They gave me a family to love, they gave me a life to live. It's thanks to them that I could pass on with a smile on my face.

And their faces were the only things on my mind as the darkness closed in around me.

And then there was nothing.

* * *

 **Bonus: Rudeus and His Wives (Adapted from Asura Kingdom's Biography of Rudeus Greyrat)**

Many know Rudeus Greyrat as a monumental contributor to the world of not just magecraft, but research, inventing, and education. Despite the sheer impact of his actions on the future of our world, Rudeus himself kept a low profile, desiring that his name never be credited first, or even at all. As a result, not much is known about this mysterious man.

By most accounts, Rudeus was a kind, polite, and gentle soul. No matter how much he triumphed, he always said that there was someone stronger than him. His modesty was to such an extent that it actually became a source of slight frustration from his peers, who greatly respected and honored him.

Physically, Rudeus was above average height, around 5 feet 9 inches. He had brown hair with green eyes. According to eyewitness reports, his looks were considered good in general. From a biased account from his first wife, Sylphiette Greyrat, during their days at a magic university: "My knees gave away just by looking at his face for several seconds."

It's also worth noting that according to some sources, Rudeus was also extremely lustful. Some records say that he paid no attention to his surroundings, and was quite presumptuous with his wives no matter the situation. But those same records go on to say that his loyalty to them was unmatched. Not a single case exists of him attempting to make a move on someone else. This is supported by the sheer protectiveness Rudeus has displayed in defense of his wives and family. Not a single insult to them in his presence went unpunished, and if threats were involved, his bloodlust and rage succeeded in even unnerving the Dragon God, Orsted.

More information on Rudeus Greyrat can be found in his official biography, located in the Asura Kingdom Library. Now we will discuss our other topic.

Sylphiette Greyrat, Rudeus' first wife. Records indicate that she is a quarter elf, an eighth beast-race, and the rest human. Due to growing up alongside Rudeus, she was one of the first examples of the new generation of mages. It is through her that we know Rudeus had begun revolutionizing magic from as early as the young age of 5 years old. Though his theories hadn't yet been refined or tested, Rudeus trained Sylphiette in the same way that he learned magic, a set of unique methods he came up with when he secretly read his parent's books on magic. Those techniques he created as a child were formally tested once he became a teacher and researcher, and were soon adopted worldwide. That training also made Sylphiette into one of the most talented mages of her time, only surpassed by Rudeus himself, Roxy M. Greyrat, and a few other notables.

Despite her talent in magic, she was only noted to be an accomplished student and an able bodyguard to the Princess who later became Queen of the Asura Kingdom. After her resignation as a bodyguard, she married Rudeus, the both of them 16 years of age, and left the public eye. Not much else is known about her after that, as Rudeus, along with his family, tried their best to stay away from the limelight.

Roxy M. Greyrat. Rudeus' second wife. She hails from the magically-inclined Migurd race from the Demon Continent. Roxy is actually the teacher that cultivated Rudeus' talent, becoming his tutor when he was only 3 years old. After they parted ways, she traveled the world until they met again when Rudeus was almost 17 years of age. They participated in a raid of a S-rank Labyrinth, which resulted in the death of Paul Greyrat, father of Rudeus, and the comatose/zombie-like mental state of Zenith Greyrat, mother of Rudeus. It is said that without Roxy, Rudeus would never have recovered from those losses. It was after that that he welcomed her into his family as his second wife.

Later in life, Roxy became the headmaster of the Ranoa Magic University, the school Rudeus attended. Her contributions to education have made her famous, but outside of her status as an esteemed educator, not much else is known about her. We can once again blame Rudeus' desire to remain unnoticed by the masses.

Eris Boreas Greyrat. The third wife of Rudeus. Born into the esteemed Boreas Greyrat family, a distant cousin to Rudeus' own Notus Greyrat family, she became noted from an early age as a violent brute of a girl. Rudeus was sent to tutor her in the finer arts of mathematics, magic, and reading when she was 9 years old, and he was 7. Under his guidance, she became more mellow, and others began to see Rudeus' potential as an educator and mage. But while Eris did succeed in learning basic magic under Rudeus, her true talent was in swordplay.

During a several-year period of separation from Rudeus, Eris attained the rank of Sword King of the Sword God Style. She also attained the Saint rank of the North God Style. Her achievements and temperament in battle earned her the moniker "Mad Dog Eris". After her training, she returned to Rudeus to help him fight Dragon God Orsted, but they were both defeated and Orsted spared them. It was after that that she became his third wife. After Rudeus decided to join Orsted, she continued to fight alongside him until the final battle against the Fighting God Badigadi and the North God Kalman III. Some scholars note that she is the only one of Rudeus' wives that was capable of standing on the front lines alongside him.

This article is an attempt to further investigate the life of Rudeus Greyrat, and show how closely tied his achievements are to the family he cherished so dearly. Any further information or records should be submitted to the Royal Archive for validation and integration into our current information. Thank you.

* * *

 **Bonus' Bonus: Reacting to the Article**

Rudeus: ...Eh? Lustful? Why'd they devote a full paragraph to that?

Sylphy: But they're right, Rudi is definitely a pervert.

Rudeus: ...But why is that important?

Sylphy: ...I don't know. Maybe they didn't have anything else to write about?

Rudeus: Hah...I should've put my name on more things…by the way. Did you really say that about me? About how seeing me makes your knees go weak?

Sylphy: Ah! Well...I...yes…I did...

Rudeus: Oho, Sylphy's just too cute~. Come here~!

Sylphy: E-Eh!? Kyaa!

Roxy: Rudi, this is why that scholar wrote that paragraph. Stop bothering Sylphy!

Rudeus: But Sylphy looks happy though? She's enjoying this.

Roxy: ...Is Rudi right?

Sylphy: Umm...a little bit.

Rudeus: See?

Roxy: ...I suppose it's fine then.

Rudeus: Aha! It's okay Roxy-sensei, I won't leave you out. I'm not that mean.

Roxy: Wha-, sto-, ahh!

Sylphy: Rudi!?

Eris: *Ahem*

Rudeus & Sylphy & Roxy: ~!~!~!

Rudeus: Um...I can explain?

Eris: What. are. you. doing!?

Rudeus: ...Bonding.

Eris: *Inhales Deeply* Is that so? I think Rudi needs to be punished.

Rudeus: Eep! I just remembered some important business. Goodbye!

Eris: Get back here!

Roxy & Sylphy: …

Sylphy: Is Eris-chan...jealous?

Roxy: Looks like it. She just can't be honest with herself unless they're alone.

Rudeus: Nooooooo! Save me!

Sylphy: Hm...but I think she's being honest right now.

Roxy: Haha...I think you're right.

* * *

 **Ending Note:**

Whew. A note at the beginning and the end? My apologies.

Anyways, the Biography of Rudeus Greyrat does exist, and is an official side chapter written by the original author. I was hoping my little excerpted version would give more of an impersonal view on how the world Rudeus is leaving behind viewed him, and maybe give some insight into what kind of person he is. Please, tell me your thoughts.

Thank you for reading, I'll see you next chapter!


	2. Infancy Period - Working Hard (Again)

**Review Responses**

Thanks to all the people stopping and leaving a review! I welcome everything except blind hate.

I'll also be responding the reviews before the story was moved too, so don't worry, I didn't forget ya.

 **Darkoul** : Well, I'm glad you liked it! If your warning was to remind me not to rush or be overeager with my story, I'm taking that to heart, don't worry! Thanks for stopping by!

 **Anonymous** **:** Wah, I was not expecting this large of a review from a guest user. I can totally see where your criticism for the source material of Mushoku Tensei is coming from, and I agree with most of it.

I'll also be honest, it's not like I was planning to leave the 40 years between the end of the story and the epilogue blank, but I really didn't think that anything quite as notable as Rudeus fighting against Badigadi, Kalman III, Gal Farion, and others happened during the rest of his life. I figure he continued doing work for Orsted, stopping Hitogami's minor plots and all that good stuff, while continuing his research and living life to its fullest.

I am planning to have Rudi be quite a bit more mature, given a whole extra life's worth of experience, though. That sort of wise composure that older people give off. This will probably also cause some dissonance, like "Who the hell does this kid think he is?" in terms of hostility or "That's really impressive for your age" in terms of appreciation. It'll be more pronounced than his upbringing as Rudeus, since he was way more knowledge at his disposal.

I really appreciate this kind of review, bringing up some of the reader's ideas for consideration. Thanks for taking the time to write!

 **darkwolf324** : I appreciate the kind words, cheers!

 **Bane-Existence** : Finish it! Haha, if you've made it that far, it's well worth it. Thanks for writing, I'll try my best not to disappoint.

 **fernando01516** : I am so sorry, but I do not speak Spanish. According to Google Translate, you seem to be asking about how I'm setting up Rudeus in Remnant. You'll find out in the chapter! Haha, please enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!

 **yasulong** : Wow, another lengthy one! Thanks for writing! Let's get to addressing your points, since you've made some good ones.

I actually disagree with your statement that Rudeus would lack drive simply because he was content with his life before. It might just be the way I view him as a character, but I feel that he can be summed up as a kind-hearted optimist (with a very obvious perverted side) by the time of his death. Sure, reincarnating again is a surprise, and sure, he would've been happy to fade away since he had no regrets. But just because he reincarnated again unexpectedly doesn't immediately mean he goes "Wow, this sucks. I wanted it to be all over with.". What I'm trying to get at is that he wasn't really _tired_ or _done_ with his life per se, but that he was _happy_ enough to let it all go. Also, he's not a very detached person. Receiving love and care from his new family, even if he doesn't need it or he's been through it before, is sure to cause an emotional response of at the minimum, gratitude.

Of course, I'm not going to write that he just jumps in like a maniac like "OH S*** NEW LIFE BABY!". I didn't write out all his thoughts, but he has plenty of time as an infant to think to himself. Not much else you can do at that age, haha.

As for what he would strive for on Remnant...I'd say a good life? Why not make it a goal again? And yes, you could say masquerading as a kid or doing anything like that again would get old, and I would agree with you. But at the same time, people are more comfortable with familiarity, and even if they say "same old, same old" it's not like they'd despair at having to repeat some actions. Plus, Remnant is quite a lot different from his last world, I'm sure he'll find some excitement out there!

And that brings me to your last point, the setting of Remnant vs Rudeus. It's funny, I already addressed that before this review, as you'll see if you read the chapter. I hope you found my idea on the topic satisfactory. I do want to argue against his _complete_ lack of knowledge in Remnant though. I'm not sure you're giving his smarts or his combat ability enough credit. A lot of his knowledge is inapplicable, like you said, due to the shift in technological level, but you forget that he's still an intermediate-level swordsman, an engineer and inventor, and he's just quick-witted in general. He'll have a lot of learning to do, but I'm sure he'll manage.

As for combat, an intermediate-level swordsman is still at the level of the average knight (read: trained officer) in his world, like Luke Notus Greyrat was. And the only reason he was even that low was because he couldn't use "touki", that fighting energy stuff that other swordsman used. Combining his melee techniques and substituting the magic armor for touki made him into the equivalent a saint-level swordsman, if you recall.

That's not even taking into account how much experience he has mixing melee and ranged combat. If he puts in enough effort into learning how to operate non-magical firearms, and he makes proper adjustments for aura and technology, he'll be one hell of a fighter. It's easy to forget that Rudeus was pretty much just below monsters like Orsted, Laplace, etc, because he himself stayed humble and was always surrounded by the few people stronger than him.

Anyways, this response has gotten quite long, but it was fun, so if you want to talk more, please PM me :D.

I truly appreciate the time you took to write this, along with the fact that you've already begun eyeing my story critically. While I do write for fun, I'm always looking to improve. Thanks!

 **And that concludes my review responses, thank you very much!**

* * *

 **Author's Note**

Holy-

This ended up being way longer than I intended it to be. Well, it's all about getting settled before the storms start hitting. I hope you all enjoy this setup chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it, and don't be afraid to leave a review!

Thank you so much for being here!

* * *

 **Yet Another World**

 **Chapter 1: Infancy Period - Working Hard (Again)**

I was abruptly taken out of the darkness, immediately hit by a bright light that blinded me. I screwed up my face in pain, also noticing that my body wasn't responding normally.

 _What the heck is going on?_

The first thing I saw once my vision cleared was a confident-looking woman with dark black hair and sharp green eyes. My refined instincts spoke to me and instantly determined that this woman was indeed very beautiful. She gave off the air of a composed, mature woman. Quite pleasing on the eyes.

However, I then noticed that she looked a bit tired, like she'd just gone through severe physical exertion. And she was smiling very widely at me. But most notably, I noticed that from my perspective, she seemed to loom over me.

 _Oh no._

I know this feeling. I've had this exact experience before.

As if confirming my thoughts, the woman spoke to someone out of my line of sight, probably behind me. I didn't understand a single word of what they were saying.

"-XXX-XXXXX"

"XXXX-XXXXXX-XXXXX"

Even though she was visibly exhausted, the woman's voice carried a forceful strength with it, but her tone at the moment was friendly. The voice that answered back was a bit softer, in a scholarly way. It was also unmistakably a man's voice.

I was turned around, so I could see the other person. My impression seemed to be right. The man sitting behind me had neat brown hair coupled with a large, but thin beard. On his face sat a pair of circular spectacles. A pleasant looking fellow, but not lacking in any aspect of manliness, either.

"Gaaah. Ugu…" I tried to speak. Of course, I failed.

The woman shifted slightly, and my head tilted forwards a bit. I managed to catch a glimpse of my arm before my position was fixed.

Sausage-like. Small, stubby, and very flabby.

 _Hah..._

I knew it.

I've been reborn again.

* * *

Well, there's not much one can do in their first months of life. Not to mention that with or without my consent, my body was set into a rigid cycle of sleeping, eating, excreting, etc.

I remember when I first began my second life, my mind was alive with worries, disbelief, and general confusion. I find that I'm managing to be a bit calmer this time around.

But that didn't mean I didn't have questions.

Why did I reincarnate again?

Concerning my first reincarnation, I was under the impression that some greater force took pity on me and granted me a second chance. But since I then managed to live a life that would be the envy of many, I'd thought it should've been over for me after that.

Perhaps entering the cycle of reincarnation was what happened to everyone? Maybe we're all just born again in different worlds? The only problem with that is that I still have my memories. I know that that can't be normal. No matter how good you become at hiding it, there's no way every single person in a given world would be able to conceal something so life-changing.

So what the hell's going on!?

Huh. Maybe I am still a bit shaken. There's no real purpose in pondering these questions. Once I stopped thinking about why, I began thinking about my current situation.

The couple I saw first are probably my parents, or if not, extremely devoted and loving caretakers. The both of them looked to be in their mid-twenties, older than my late parents were when I was born as Rudeus Greyrat. Older than I was when I had Lucy with Sylphy.

Arghh! It's very strange to think that I'm mentally much older than both of my parents. They were the same age as some of my grandchildren. The thought made me grimace.

 _Well, at least they appear to be a responsible pair of youngsters._

I was definitely a planned pregnancy that was properly prepared for; not the result of an accidental night of carelessness. If I had full control of my neck, I would've nodded in a very sagely way as I thought that.

...I'll have to make sure I don't act too much like an old man once I'm able to talk.

Without much to do, I passed time by thinking and playing with various tangents like this.

The life of a baby is quite lonely, really.

But later on, I made a startling observation!

It looks like this world has electricity, or at least some kind of equivalent. The lighting in our house appeared to be artificial. I spent hours observing the light from my crib, and I'm now one hundred percent confident in my conclusion. This idea was further confirmed as I saw devices that resembled modern household appliances from my first life. I even saw something that looked like a television.

Wherever I've ended up, I think it might be similar to modern earth. At least on the surface. One of the times I was carried around the house, I swear I saw what looked like a high-tech sword with gun parts. Definitely not something from Earth. The weapon probably belongs to my mother.

Speaking of her, my impression is that she's the "authority" of the house. It wasn't that my father was weak or anything, but their interactions just gave off that kind of feeling. She might be a working mom, or something similar. I also noticed that even though she meticulously cared for me, she would sometimes gaze out of the window longingly, or fidget restlessly when she didn't have anything to do. She's probably a person who likes to be busy.

To my amusement, she was secretly very doting whenever father wasn't around or within earshot. She made all kinds of cooing sounds and funny faces, some of which even managed to make me laugh. I'm sure she'd be way too embarrassed to do this around others. I was reminded of a certain Eris Greyrat I knew and loved with all my heart.

Once I had that thought, the true gravity of my situation hit me.

I would never see my old family again.

The people I loved, they were far away now. Beyond my reach.

That was one of the few times I couldn't stop myself from crying.

I was fussed over by my mother and father until I managed to calm myself down. Since I was mentally mature, I didn't cry often. It must've been quite a shock to my parents.

It was curious, though, I was perfectly content to pass on the way I did. Maybe it's because I thought I would fade away into the void after my death, but now that I've been reincarnated yet again…I wanted so very much to see my family again. It just wouldn't be the same without them.

 _Stay strong, me._

Moving on, my father, in contrast to my mother, was easygoing and mellow. I didn't really see him too much, and I think he spends most of his time at his desk. He reminds me of the average Japanese office worker. But whatever work he does looks like it's from home.

In general, my parents properly took care of me, and the home life gave off quite a happy impression. Because of my irregular sleep cycle, I sometimes hear my parents getting to work on my siblings.

 _Ah, it's good to be young, isn't it?_

It would appear that my mother is the dominant one. That fact reminded me again of myself and Eris, whom I've never managed to take the lead against. In truth, I might as well have been the innocent maiden in our relationship. Paraphrasing my own words, "I give shoulder pillows to Sylphy and Roxy. But with Eris, I'm the one receiving the shoulder pillow."

 _Damn it, enough of that._

My parents weren't quite as "active" as my old parents (or me and my wives for that matter) were, but that might be a good thing. Paul Greyrat was a good person, but not a good father. The fact that I had a sister and a half-sister of the same age was a testament to that.

 _Hmm...now that I think about it, it was Paul that made me resolve to properly love my partner when I grew up. But in the end...I guess I did take after him, since I found myself with quite the large family._

No, I know with absolute certainty that I was lucky. I can't expect to meet such amazing girls like Sylphy, Roxy, or Eris again.

 _Those lovely, unique, wonderful girls..._

Ahem.

Other than those observations, I've managed to determine that there isn't anything jarringly different between this place and the other worlds I've lived on. The day-night cycle is roughly the same, and from what I can see hear the weather is pretty much identical.

Ah, there is the moon though.

I was being carried around at night one time, and I caught a glimpse of this world's moon.

I was greatly shocked!

The moon was shattered, with many chunks floating up beside a permanent crescent moon in the night sky. No one else reacted, so that sight must've been normal. Truly a big surprise, but I won't worry about it as long as no one else is.

 _But it's a concrete symbol that I'm in another world again, huh?_

Before long, I'd finished observing everything I could from my parent's arms or my crib. Now I can only wait until I'm a bit older.

In the meantime, I've also begun to pick up snippets of conversation. It's nowhere near close to even elementary school-level fluency, but I've at least picked up my own name. Or, I believe, my nickname.

It appears fate has it in store for me, because my parents have been calling me Rudi. I wanted to protest that, but of course I had no way to do that. How strange would it be if my full name turned out to be Rudeus again? I'm not sure I could deal with that.

Aside from my name, I've also managed to understand some basic phrases. Most of them were just common things people said to babies:

"Are you hungry?"

"There, there."

"He seems healthy."

"Go to sleep~, go to sleep~."

"Who's the cutest? You are! Yes, you are!"

Well, that last one was from my mother's secret doting.

Unfortunately, I'm not at an age where my parents are actively trying to teach me to speak yet, let alone do things like reading aloud to me, so it's been a bit difficult to pick up more conversations.

It's a bit strange, though, I remember hearing that it was good to read to your baby, no matter the age. Maybe they didn't practice that in this world? In my case, I would've appreciated that very much. Eh, it's not a big deal though, I'll just give it my best in other ways to learn the language.

It's not like I had much else to do locked in this body...

Seriously, the life of a baby is really lonely, isn't it?

* * *

Around half a year has passed and…

I've leveled up! I finally gained the ability to crawl!

I made immediate use of that skill and mapped out the house. With my newfound freedom and information gathering capabilities, I've further confirmed that this world has a lot of technology similar to that of modern Earth's. The device I saw earlier was indeed a television, and I've spotted a refrigerator and electric stove in use.

Now that I'm a bit older, my mother has handed over the reins of responsibility to my father. She's begun to leave the house often, almost every other day. Each time she left, she carried the strange sword I saw earlier. Whatever job she had, she was definitely fighting something. To my experienced eyes, it looked like she was trained to fight monsters, or some kind of wild animal. She didn't carry herself like someone trained in the art of killing others.

Once I got my hands on some of the books in my father's study, I found some possible foes. I still haven't gotten a good grasp on this world's spoken language, let alone it's written language, but a lot of the books have pictures or photographs depicting these strange black creatures covered in white bone. There were also some photographs of people fighting those creatures. My mother was probably going out to fight these things.

At least I've identified one of the threats in this world.

Our home was built out of wood, but the wood was definitely manufactured in some way and treated to last. It was less of a "log cabin" and more of a proper house "that happened to made out of wood". When I finally managed to climb onto a chair and look out a window properly, I saw that there were other houses nearby, built in a similar way.

It also didn't look like we had many visitors, which surprised me considering how small the settlement we were in appeared to be.

I was just guessing though.

The reason I had that impression was because the houses here are spaced rather closely together, and I'm pretty sure I could see a wall in the distance. All of this indicated that I was in some kind of protected settlement out in a rural area. I can only assume the wall was meant to protect us against the beasts I saw in the books.

A little later, I finally had the chance to closely observe another person interacting with my family when someone knocked on our door. My mother was out already, having left early in the morning, so my father went to greet the person. I was too far from the front door to hear what they were saying, so I tried my best to glean what I could from watching.

The person that came to the door was an older woman, probably middle-aged. Unfortunately for me, they only had a short conversation which ended with the guest handing my father an envelope. Overall, their body language and tones of voice were friendly. But what caught me off guard was what I managed to see when the guest turned to leave.

She had a tail! It looked like the tail of a deer or rabbit. Just a tuft of fur that twitched as she turned to leave.

 _Beast Race? No...I can't apply logic from my last life here. I don't have enough information yet. Maybe it was an accessory of some sort? That doesn't seem quite right, it looks too natural. I'll have to wait until I can learn more._

But this was an exciting discovery, for sure.

After all, what self-respecting man does not appreciate the charms of animal ears or tails?

Now that I've mapped out my home, and observed the area around the house, I've once again run out of things to do. The only objective left is to finish learning the language, so I can begin forming more solid conclusions about my new life.

To begin with, I am slowly but surely making progress on understanding more mundane topics of conversation.

"He's always so calm."

"But he crawls around so much."

"That's good, but it's weird that he doesn't cry a lot, isn't it?"

I had some major deja vu after hearing that. This was the same kind of conversation Paul and Zenith had when I was growing up as Rudeus. Listening further, I also managed to learn that we're a financially stable household.

"How's this month looking?"

"It's good, you might not have to go out for a while. Profits are high for now, and we're set for the next few months."

"Hmm...I'll go anyways."

"Haha, of course. That's just like you."

That knowledge did a lot to soothe my nerves. Somewhere deep down, I always had the fear of being a burden on my family. As a child, I wouldn't be able to do anything for my parents if they were in trouble, and they'd be stuck trying to raise me or as a last resort, abandon me. I don't want to bring that kind of pain into a happy home.

Also, it looks like I was right, my mother is quite the busybody. She seems restless whenever she's in the house. I've seen people like her before, the free-spirited adventuring types. It brought a nostalgic smile to my face.

"Rudi makes some strange faces sometimes. It's almost like he can understand us."

"You're just imagining things."

"Maybe. But he's got some spark in his eyes. Maybe he'll grow up to be like his mother?"

"I'm sure he will, dear, I'm sure he will." My mother looked pleased at that statement.

 _Oops._

I have to be more careful. My new parents are more observant than Paul or Zenith were, and they seem to know more about raising a child than they did. I'm reminded of the maid that took care of most the parental duties for the Greyrat family, Lilia.

I'm sure she'd suspected something was different about me. Such a thing wasn't a big deal at the time, since Lilia was in a position of service to my family, but I certainly don't want to draw attention to myself unnecessarily now. My new parents might start giving me special treatment, or changing the way they're raising me. I believe it's best to grow up in a natural way, so I want to avoid that.

And so I continued onwards, determined to stay on top of things while being a proper child to my new family.

* * *

Two years have passed since I found myself in this world.

I can now understand both the spoken and written language of this world. As you can imagine, this has contributed greatly to the understanding of my situation.

First of all, this world is called Remnant. A bit of a strange name if you ask me, but hey, my last world didn't even have a name. Aside from the name, this world notably bears some striking similarities to Earth, more than the fantasy world I lived in before.

There are four major kingdoms: Vale, Mistral, Vacuo, and Atlas. Vale and Vacuo are located on the western continent, called Sanus. Mistral takes up all of the eastern continent, called Anima. And Atlas takes up the northern continent, Solitas. Aside from the four kingdoms, there's an island to the south of Mistral called Menagerie, and an island north of Vale called Vytal.

There are only two races living on Remnant, humans and faunus. It turns out that faunus are similar to the beast race from my old world, in that they look just like humans with some animal parts. But the differences between humans and faunus are very little when compared to the difference between the beast race and humans. It makes me wonder why such a divide between humans and faunus exists.

Anyways, the Kingdoms of Remnant are more like city-states in reality. This is because Remnant is plagued by beasts called the Grimm, the beasts of darkness that I saw earlier in my father's books. Apparently they existed for no other purpose than destroying life.

Uwah, that's pretty frightening.

And it turns out the village I live in is an outside settlement within Vale's territory. The Kingdom does send some support to these frontier settlements, but it seems that most of the time we're on our own. Since life has been peaceful so far, I can assume we're pretty well off.

As I was investigating why we lived peacefully despite being unprotected, I found something new. It turns out that there's a profession that revolves around fighting the Grimm: Huntsmen and Huntresses. My mother is actually one of them. I assume that whenever she leaves, it's on patrol for any Grimm that might be coming too close to the settlement.

Speaking of my parents, I've finally learned their names. My mother's name is Kuroi, my father's name is Ros, and our last name is Lovac. Making my full name Rudi Lovac. Not a bad sounding name, but I'll always have a soft spot for Greyrat.

Because I'm at an age where I should be speaking in short phrases, I've started calling my parents Mama and Papa. It makes me smile when I see their faces light up in delight as I call out to them. It reminded me of my own experiences as a parent. Because it's easy for me to empathize with them, I don't want to deprive them of any of the little joys in watching their child grow.

But to save my sanity, I'll probably start speaking in full sentences soon, maybe in another year. I'll make them think that I'm a pretty smart kid or something.

Back to the names, I'd bemusedly thought that mother's had fit her in a very literal way, but it turns out that it's a tradition in this world to give names derived from colors, though it's not a requirement and some of the names I've seen in books stretch it a lot. Since my mother's hair was black, her name is Kuroi. Following this, I'm assuming my father's name has something to do with his blonde hair. But that didn't explain why I was named Rudi.

As far as I can tell, my own hair color is a light brown, like my old hair. And I inherited mother's own green eyes. To sum it up, I look surprisingly similar to how I did as Rudeus Greyrat. Luckily for me, I overheard my mother explaining my name to one of our neighbors. She said I'd had a really red face when I was born, a face that could easily be described as "ruddy". My parents thought this was cute, and decided to adapt it to "Rudi", which is the way the word is read in mother's home village.

Strangely, it wasn't only my mother's japanese-esque name, or my name being the japanese way of reading "ruddy", there's tons of other names derived from "old languages", which all resemble Earth languages. Yet there's no sign of this world ever coming into contact with Earth. Eh, I guess it's not a big deal. In the long run, these little eccentricities are irrelevant.

What is important, though, is that there's no magic on Remnant. No one has innate magical abilities, and I couldn't feel any mana in the air (might just be my new body, though). Instead, the world seems to run on something called Dust, which is used to power literally everything. I'm not sure how it works yet, but since father has so many books, there should be at least one detailing dust.

I've been spending most of my time reading so that I can continue to expand my knowledge. Father's usually in his study, so I sneak the books out to my room so I can read unobserved or be prepared in case someone comes. It wouldn't do for anyone to see me analyzing books so intently when I shouldn't even be able to read yet.

Honestly though, I wish I had a computer, if they exist. Both my father and mother own this world's version of tablets, called "scrolls", but mother brings hers to work and father is always using his. No luck there.

By the way, there is a television in the house, but there's usually only cartoons or current events being shown. And while watching the news did help me understand some things, I was hoping for more academic information. I guess Remnant doesn't have a Discovery channel or a History channel.

The book I currently had in front of me was titled _Choosing Your Future for Dummies: A Career Guide_. I wanted to begin exploring the possibilities for my future. My father's actually a writer/scholar, bringing in a bit of money through both his novels and field guides on Grimm. But mother is definitely the breadwinner of the house. Becoming a huntsman looks like it pays well, for good reason. But there might be other good jobs too.

I need to begin planning my path so I could live a good life and support...support my family…

 _Hah..._

...Was I going to start a new family, here on Remnant?

Did I have the heart to devote myself to new people all over again…?

It wasn't just my own feelings that bothered me, I wanted to be sure that I wasn't going to be unfair to the people around me. It would be cruel and unjust to use the people I meet as false replacements for the people I've lost.

I shook my head, shaking off the gloomy thoughts.

 _I'm only two years old, godammit, I have plenty of time to think it over._

Refocusing, I opened the book and shifted my attention to absorbing its contents. But even before reading, I already had a sinking feeling about my prospects. As I read into common professions and paths of education, I discovered that my fears were well-founded.

In short, Remnant was too advanced.

Allow me to explain. I was largely successful in my previous life due to my skill in magic, and my knowledge of modern technology, medicine, and education. Using this, I made money and provided a living for my family through research, inventions, and other things.

However, my previous world was essentially at a medieval technological level, along with the addition of magic to make the average quality of life higher. In contrast, Remnant was already almost at the level of modern Japan. I couldn't bring anything new to the table.

I suppose they haven't yet discovered some finer things, like the human genome or nuclear fusion. But I'm no geneticist, and I'm definitely not a nuclear engineer. I was a jobless, worthless, piece of crap that was never trained for any of the jobs of modern society.

I almost sighed.

Still, I could always go through a proper education instead of dropping out this time, then get a job, and become a working and efficient cog of society.

But that didn't guarantee stability in a world plagued with monsters.

No, I needed to be able to defend my family, while still providing for them. That left very few options. I could join the military, police force, or become a huntsman. Mercenary work was also an option.

Sadly, that only left me with one real choice.

This is because at heart, I'm a pacifist. The thought of fighting other people is a distasteful one. Even in my previous life, where I did participate in wars and other conflicts (curse you, Hitogami), I just didn't have the stomach to kill easily or readily.

If it was possible to avoid fighting, I would. I know some of my non-admirers called me a coward behind my back, but I didn't, and still don't, really care.

Yes, if I had to pick a job, it would be to fight the Grimm. Hunting monsters is something I'm familiar with, and I know I have a decent head for combat. This was the ideal job on Remnant for a person like me. And while the focus isn't on fighting other people, hunters were still trained in how to defend themselves and others.

Of course, I understood that a choice made this early was in no way set in stone, but at least I had a goal to work towards.

 _Since it's a combat-based profession..._

I need to begin training.

Still, two years old is a bit too soon for physical conditioning, so for now I decided to study. There's no such thing as being too prepared, after all.

I rummaged around father's study when he went out and found two books that were relevant: _History: Huntsmen and Huntresses_ and _How to Arm Yourself_. Good enough for now. I brought the books back to my room.

I looked around at the various toys that were spread out across the floor. I kept my room messy for camouflage. That way it looks more natural to someone who might walk in on me reading. They'd just see a child playing with toys and messing around with some books without really understanding anything. Both my parents had reacted the first time with a mixture of amusement and pride when they they saw me messing with the books. Since then they've come in a few more times, with no major reactions.

Nodding in satisfaction, I plopped down and began reading.

It wasn't very complicated. Huntsmen/Huntresses tended to use high tech weapons that could serve as both melee and ranged weapons. I'd already seen mother performing maintenance on her sword, so I had a pretty good idea of what I'd be working with.

The books went on to talk about how the more dedicated huntsmen might craft their own weapons. It was a bit surprising, but in a pleasant way. I liked creating things, plain and simple. I wrote books, created figures, brainstormed inventions, created spells, and more in my previous life. More than half the things I did back then involved the creative process.

Of course, I knew almost nothing about mechanical engineering. Keyword being almost, as I have designed magical armor/mecha hybrids before. But I highly doubt that Remnant's engineering was even remotely similar to the magic-based technology I'm familiar with.

Once I finished reading up on weaponry, I moved on to combat tactics. A huntsman normally works alone or in small groups up to around four members when performing standard missions. The training I'll be receiving will probably reflect that. I'll work hard to make sure I perform admirably. But since I'm no stranger to combat, the biggest priority once I manage to get into an academy would be to learn more about the various species of Grimm, and then adapt my knowledge accordingly.

Realizing that more practical knowledge would have to wait until I'm in school, I settled for absorbing general information about how we would be expected to operate, and what duties our positions would entail. Once again, it wasn't very complicated.

The perks of having a common, ever-present enemy.

While I don't doubt that there were complex politics on Remnant, I'm sure they were nowhere near as prevalent as the ridiculousness that is politics on Earth, or even the politics among the kingdoms in my last world. Threats like the Grimm had a way of uniting humanity.

I continued reading until I found something that caught my eye.

Apparently the people of Remnant did have powers of some sort. These abilities consisted of two things: Aura and Semblances. My curiosity piqued, I began reading all I could about aura.

At first, I was hoping that aura was this world's equivalent of mana, but sadly I quickly found that it was not. Instead, it seems aura is some kind of energy that stems from a manifestation of a person's soul.

It's uses are far more limited than mana, but in exchange for that flexibility, it appears to a very formidable power. The most basic use of aura is defense, where it seems to act like those shields from sci-fi games. It absorbs damage until depleted, after which, the user begins taking injuries.

Aura is also used as the catalyst for Dust reactions, information that may be useful in the future.

Aside from its passive defense uses, it also acts akin to the concept of "chi", like a kind of spiritual energy. It can be used and channeled offensively, with the techniques for such are called "Aura Manipulation". I think it might be like the "touki" that swordsmen like Eris used.

As a side note, the reason I never passed intermediate rank in any sword styles as Rudeus is because of my body's natural inability to use touki in even the slightest of ways. That's why Eris was always the better physical fighter than me. It looks like aura might be the answer to my deficiency in melee combat now.

Moving on to Semblances, these are more or less the equivalent to superpowers. They vary between individuals, but some are hereditary. The scope of powers was also exceedingly wide, ranging from physical enhancement, manipulation of one's surroundings, or even effects similar to spellcasting. However, using one's semblance consumes their aura, and it is said that a semblance is the next step in manifesting one's soul. Interesting information, but I was worried more about the practical aspects.

I have no way of knowing what my semblance is, and it looks like I won't be able to find out until I know how to use my aura. I have to find out my own capabilities soon, so I can begin tailoring a fighting style that best fits this body and my new surroundings.

I moved Aura to the top of my priority list and continued reading.

 _Everyone has Aura, but it must first be "unlocked". This is typically done by someone whose Aura is already activated, using theirs to awaken the recipient's._

I furrowed my brow in confusion. There's no way that's the only method. It's a simple egg or chicken first question. I dove back into the book.

 _More rarely, one can awaken their own Aura by intense concentration, unlocking their own potential._

What?

What is this, some kind of battle-show? I stared down at the book in disbelief. I briefly entertained some very anime-esque thoughts.

"And this...this is to go...even further beyond!"

I imagined myself standing up and shouting at the top of my lungs, trying to unlock my aura by sheer force of will. I laughed softly and immediately dismissed the thought.

 _If aura is the manifestation of one's soul...it should be related to spiritual concepts. And the best way to access one's own spirit is…_

Meditation.

I grinned. That would have to do for now. Trying to remember what I could about meditation, I cleared a bit of room around me and then sat up straight, cross-legged. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths. As I settled in, I began recalling everything I knew about using mana, along with secondhand information on how touki was used.

Some of it should be applicable, I hope.

The first thing I did was try to feel around my consciousness for a source of energy, to find my own "soul", so to speak. I used my memories of what it was like to feel my mana, the power of magic coursing through my veins, so I kept an eye out for something similar.

To my surprise, I found something. It felt drastically different from mana, but it was a powerful pulsing force within me. I was reminded of a bright white light, shining in the dark. Perhaps this was the source of aura, my soul?

I then recalled what it felt like to direct mana through my body, channeling it and using it in my spells. I tried to emulate that. I reached out towards the white light, trying to coax some of its energy into obeying me. The light didn't budge. In fact, it seemed to withdraw from me.

Hmm…

Not discouraged, I tried a more direct approach, "opening" myself up to try and allow the power to rush through me freely. Once again, nothing happened.

 _Okay, this might be pretty hard._

Before I could try anything else, the door to my room was opened.

"Rudi! It's dinner time." Ros entered the room and looked around, shaking his head wryly at the mess, "Taking my books again? Don't worry, Papa'll read some of them to you later."

In response to his voice, I blinked a couple of times, shaking off the self-induced trance of meditation. Taking my sitting position and half-closed eyes as grogginess from a nap, Ros walked over and picked me up.

"Let's go, champ. Mama's back and waiting. Let's go see her!"

His words made me snap back into focus. Specifically, the content of his words. Mother didn't get back until sunset. It'd been right before noon when I started reading about aura. I glanced towards the windows and saw that the sun was just now vanishing over the horizon.

 _Seriously!?_

It looks like accessing one's soul was not only difficult, but time consuming. I chewed on my lip unconsciously. This was going to be far more of a challenge than I anticipated.

* * *

My 4th birthday was celebrated recently.

And I still haven't even come close to "unlocking" my aura. I've at least made some progress...I think. Sometimes when I'm reaching towards my "soul", it wiggles a little. Kind of like when you poke a tower of jello. As you can imagine, this is not the result I'm looking for.

To say I'm frustrated would be an understatement. It would've been more helpful if there was even one first-person account of how it feels to unlock one's aura. Sadly, because of the conventional way of unlocking one's aura, there is no such thing.

But of course, my lack of progress is not the only thing that's been going on in the last two years.

To begin with, I think my parents took issue with the fact that I was beginning to spend so much time in my room.

 _Not like I can help it, this aura business is damn hard…_

To remedy this, they've begun taking me with them on walks throughout our village, which I've learned is called Glade. It turns out Glade is larger than I first thought, home to at least a few hundred people, with enough room for them to all live comfortably.

The people were nice, everyone was polite and courteous. In a rural way. It reminded me of my first house, the one Paul and Zenith owned out in the countryside. And that wasn't the only similarity. With my mother being the only huntress in the village, our family is well-respected all throughout. It was a direct parallel to Paul's minor noble title and status as a village protector.

Most people knew my family on sight, and I've made a few friends. For some reason, the other kids in the village seem to enjoy my presence, so I've found myself roped in as a playmate often. I think it's good for my parents too, since Mother's always out and Father needs to focus on his work at times.

All in all, a nice place to live.

I was currently on one of those walks, being hefted around on my father's shoulders.

"Well, if it isn't Ros and his son. Out for another walk?" An older man greeted us as we passed Glade's farmlands. I think his name was Teagan or something.

"That's right! How's the harvest looking this season?" Ros replied cordially.

"It's good, it's good! What with Kuroi keeping the Grimm in the forests, we haven't had to abandon any of our harvests these last few years. We owe you all so much." The man bowed, before smiling at me, "And how are you, mister?"

"I'm well, sir." I replied, looking down shyly. I was throwing in a bit of acting, a skill I've acquired and honed pretty well since my previous life; though the truth is that I'm naturally inclined to be withdrawn from strangers, so I didn't have to try very hard.

"Great to hear!" The man laughed as he switched back to conversing with father, "He's a quiet one, eh?"

"Oh, I don't know about that." Ros gave a half-smile as he looked up at me as I pretended to be interested in the clouds. I knew what he was referring to.

Ever since I'd turned three, as I promised, I'd begun talking. A lot. I asked questions, opinions, anything I was curious about. I did manage to keep up the guise of an extremely curious child, but I still might've gone just a smidge overboard. My parents probably had headaches more than once. I thought back to a series of questions I asked Mother early on. I'd been hoping for some firsthand answers.

"Mommy, what's aura?" I pronounced it like "aww-rah" to give it a more childish feel.

"Aura comes from our soul. It's a part of us, Rudi."

"What does it do?" In hindsight, I feel like I should've asked about what a soul was, but it hadn't occurred to me. I only wanted to hear some answers outside of a book's text.

"It protects us from bad things, and helps us use dust."

"What's dust?"

"We use dust in everything. Mommy's sword has some too." She gave me a watered down answer. She probably didn't think a child could comprehend the idea of a universal energy propellant.

"Where does dust come from?" Now, here was a question I wanted answers to. None of the books I've read had any info on the origin of aura, dust, or semblances. I found it strange that they didn't want to document that kind of thing, since people on Earth were always trying to figure "what came from where".

Kuroi gave me a surprised look.

"Eh- *Ahem*, dust is everywhere, it's always been a part of our world."

Uwah, she doesn't know either. Maybe it's an unexplained mystery?

"How does dust work?" I prodded on, asking another question unanswered by the books.

"By using your aura on it."

I resisted the urge to sigh. We'd gone in a loop.

"What abou-"

"Oh, It's bath time. Let's go, Rudi. I have to get up early tomorrow."

She'd cut me off suddenly. I belatedly realized I'd been talking too much, and obediently followed her.

I really couldn't help it, I wasn't big on alternate modern reality or sci-fi when I was a NEET. As a result, I'm a bit more nervous about Remnant. Before, I could fill in some blanks on my own when it was just the magical fantasy world. Not to mention I don't have a teacher like Roxy to teach me about the world this time around.

God knows I could use one to teach me even just a little bit more about aura.

It'd be even better if she was also short, with blue hair in braids, and very susceptible to praise and/or teasing. I stopped myself from sighing. Reincarnating after a long, full life was much more taxing on my psyche than reincarnating at the age of 34.

I returned my attention to the conversation between my father and the man, only to find that they were already finishing up.

"You have a good day, Ros. Try not to get too lost in your books." Teagan grinned. Ros was an easy person to poke fun at in a frontier settlement, the last place you'd normally find a bookish person like him.

"I won't." Ros nodded, before grinning back devilishly, "Try not to let your wife catch you ogling the other girls again."

We left the older man sputtering in good humor and continued our walk.

"Is there anything you want to do when we get back, Rudi?" Ros asked, looking up at me curiously.

"Read!" I answered cheerfully. Though I've read a considerable amount of my father's extensive library, I still enjoyed having him read out loud to me.

"Again?" Ros smiled at his adorable son, "Oh, but first you have to spend time with Mom, right?"

"Yep!" I nodded.

Now that I've gotten older, I've begun doing some physical exercise in preparation for becoming a hunter. Just some basic stuff, like running and other exercises under Mother's supervision

She doesn't show it, but she's overjoyed that I've taken an interest in her work.

And just a little bit too eager.

The woman had a shocking amount of in-depth knowledge concerning physical conditioning. It's like she knew how much she could push me from the moment we started training. More than once I wondered if what I was going through could be considered child abuse.

I was so sure that a modern world like this wouldn't have many established conventions for training children as young as me. I stand corrected. The presence of the Grimm has a far larger impact on Remnant's culture than I ever imagined.

Oh well. It's not like I dislike physical training.

I did the same thing with Paul since I was three, after all. And I get to read books afterwards. Not bad at all.

Though, one thing that's been bothering me recently is my future choice of weaponry. Without magic, a lot of my former techniques are useless. I did receive sword training as I've mentioned, but I'm unsure about committing myself to using the sword.

Well, until I can begin testing out different firearm/bullet combinations and until I find out what my semblance is, I'll just follow my mother's training.

"Good job, Rudi. Your swings look good." Kuroi nodded as she watched me swing the wooden practice sword (read: stick) she gave me repetitively.

 _Of course, my wife was among the top three sword fighters in the world. Not to mention my father was an S-ranked adventurer who reached advanced skill in all three sword schools._

I proudly reminisced as I performed the routine drills my mother came up with. Normally such drills would develop muscle memory and condition the student at the same time, but I knew very well how to hold and use a sword already. Still, there are some new movements that come with using a large weapon.

And Kuroi's weapon was a very large one.

If I had to describe it, it'd be a black-orange themed blade about as long as a traditional longsword, but broad and thick like a cleaver. An intimidating sight to behold. As I said before, Remnant's people also have the tradition of incorporating firearms into their fighting style, with transforming weapons being widespread. My mother was no exception, as her sword transforms into a scoped bullpup assault rifle.

With all the possibilities for weaponry, I want to extensively research and experiment before I settle on a combat style.

"Time for a jog. Follow me." Kuroi gave a small gesture for me to follow, and began jogging lightly through the village. I dropped my stick and followed suit. We usually did one lap around the entire settlement, which is no short distance, I might add.

"Rudi, why do you want to be a huntsman?" I was asked as we jogged alongside one another.

I thought about my answer. I couldn't just state that it was a good choice for the future. Instead, I focused on a simple truth: to protect the people I love. It could also be considered a suitably childish dream.

"I want to protect you!" I nodded enthusiastically, "And Papa too!"

"..." Kuroi didn't say anything, but she had a small smile on her face. She reached over and ruffled my hair. Truth be told, I liked it when my parents did that. It was a comforting gesture that also conveyed pride and affection.

"Heheh..." I laughed contentedly.

"Let's finish up and eat dinner, okay?"

"Okay!"

Honestly, I've been content recently. As much as I miss my old life, nothing in my new life has left me wanting.

...I do wish I could be done with unlocking my aura, though.

* * *

Ros sometimes wondered about his son. He didn't want to get into a certain mindset, well aware of some of the possible unhealthy consequences, but he was reasonably certain his son was some kind of prodigy.

He hadn't shared these thoughts with Kuroi yet, especially since she was already training and raising Rudi like she expected the best from him. But...there was a certain way Rudi looked at the world around him that surpassed simple childish curiosity. It was like he was analyzing, understanding, absorbing everything he could around him.

Ros was considered by others to be skilled observer. It came with being a former scouting-oriented huntsman, not that he liked to advertise the fact. And he definitely noticed things that were off about Rudi's behavior. Mainly, that Rudi seemed to be aware he was different from the other village kids.

It started when Ros realized something was wrong with Rudi's room. At first glance, it resembled any other toddler's room. Messed up toys, books sprawled all over the place, the usual.

But it didn't change.

The toys didn't move at all. Even over the course of several days, his messy room remained the same. The only thing that changed was what books were in the room. Ros could've sworn the boy was reading the books on his own, and he didn't anyone to find out. The fact that Rudi seemed to be holding the same toy every time Ros walked in only reinforced his assumptions about the boy's odd behavior.

With a start, Ros had realized his son might be afraid of his differences. He seemed keen to learn, but he didn't want to look different or be treated differently from the other children. He'd felt a stab of pain for his young son.

He was too young to be worrying about things like that.

Sure, he was a little smart. And extremely well-behaved. But he was still just a kid. He liked to be read to, he loved being carried around, and he was attached to his parents. He laughed, played, and cried like all the others.

Ros was determined not to make his son feel ostracized. As a result, he proudly observed his son's progress from the shadows, while continuing to do everything a proper dad would do.

He was performing one such fatherly task now: reading with Rudi. The boy seemed a bit tired from his training with Kuroi, but it didn't dim his boundless enthusiasm for books.

Ros had started out reading stories to Rudi, but as time passed he found himself reading other things like trivia books, history books, even some technical manuals here and there. No matter what it was, Rudi listened attentively and followed along.

It took all of his effort to stop himself from beaming down at his wonderfully intelligent child.

They were currently taking a step back, reading a little story about a hunter who fought the Grimm on his own for the sake of his love, a thief that wasn't welcome anywhere in the world. It was a sad tale, but filled with action, which always seemed to make Rudi happy.

"Papa, how did the hunter unlock his aura?" Rudi suddenly asked. Ros was surprised at the question, but dutifully backtracked to see if there was anything said on the topic.

"It looks like he unlocked it on his own. He used his love for the thief in order to awaken his powers so he could fight for her." Ros thought the idea was unbelievable, but it suited the fairy tale. An inexperienced fighter, even with aura, would simply perish in the wilds.

"Eh? You can do that?" Rudi frowned.

"Yes. Normally you would have someone else unlock your aura, but sometimes you can do it yourself." Ros replied, recalling what he knew about aura.

"How?" Rudi was looking at him intently now.

"Let's see...It has to do with your identity. Since aura is a part of your soul, you must reach into yourself and bring a piece of you forward." Ros wasn't sure if Rudi would understand, but he gave the best answer he could.

"Is it like Zen?" Rudi tilted his head questioningly.

"Zen? What do you…" Ros trailed off when he saw the pile of books in the corner. It was the latest set of books retrieved from Rudi's room. On the top was was a book titled _Finding Your Inner Self: How Your Soul Can Achieve Peace_.

Ros laughed, "I think that's one way. People from Mistral use that method, I think. But that doesn't work for everyone."

"No? Why not?" Rudi was looking at him with wide eyes. Ros quelled the urge to tousle the child's hair.

"I mean, aura is a part of _your_ soul, right? So every person interacts with their aura in a different way. " Ros explained.

Rudi stopped, looking lost in thought for a few moments, before turning back to the story. "Continue!" He declared childishly. Ros chuckled, and returned to reading.

His son really was something else.

* * *

I've been foolish. How did I not see it before?

Aura is not Remnant's version of mana.

I thought I'd taken that to heart, but for some reason I didn't think to change my approach. To be fair to myself, it wasn't like I _only_ tried meditating. I tested out every obscure way of channeling mana I could think of, but nothing had worked.

I even took a dust crystal from mother when she wasn't looking. That was probably my most foolish action, thinking that dust crystals might have some latent power in them like mana crystals. Luckily nothing bad happened, besides wasting time pointlessly. That and getting caught. Mother was not happy about that. I've never been hit by either of my parents, but that might've been preferable to the hellish training I received that day. Child abuse, I'm telling you.

My problem had been compounded by the fact that I could really only try to interact with my "soul" once or twice in a day because the process took an amazing amount of time to do. And then I started going on walks and doing physical training, which further cut the time I had to dedicate to learning about my own aura.

Fortunately, I now have some new leads..

After my father and I were done with our reading for the night, I was sent to bed. Of course, I didn't go to sleep. I sat up and closed my eyes, searching for that pulsing power within me. As it turns out, the process to search inside myself and find that power was the lengthiest part. Luckily, I got a bit faster as I kept trying. Once I felt that familiar presence, I stopped for a moment.

Since my previous ideas about meditation didn't work, I began thinking, if it was possible to awaken aura through emotions or feelings, which one would I pick for myself?

A straightforward answer would be anger. That wouldn't be too difficult.

I pictured Hitogami, I pictured the diary that held all of the pain he'd planned to inflict upon me and my family. I felt my breath hitch, the words from the diary playing through my head as clearly as the first time I read them. Pure rage surfaced from deep within me. And then I called out to my power.

To my surprise, and relief, the energy fluctuated greatly, building up until it felt like a container about to overflow. .

Then it stopped. I sighed in disappointment as I felt the "waters" recede.

Was anger not a strong enough emotion for me?

I sat in silence for awhile, pondering my next course of action, before having an epiphany.

Aura is primarily used for defence in its natural state.

 _So I should try to invoke feelings of...protectiveness? That shouldn't be hard either…_

I immediately pictured my family. The smiling faces of my children, the laughter and noise that echoed through my home, the feeling of my wives at my side. I found that this came to me much more easily than directing anger towards something. From there, it was simple to direct feelings of protectiveness to the lightly pulsing power. I would've fought until there was nothing left of me if it meant keeping them safe. Almost immediately, I could feel the energy within me moving. It struggled and thrashed, threatening to break out.

 _Almost there!_

I figured that it would help if I had a more specific goal in mind. I once again thought of the diary, except instead of thinking about how it was filled with things that Hitogami was planning, I thought about how it was filled with things that were going to happen to my family. The slight change in mindset turned all the emotions I felt towards defense, rather than offense.

As if waiting for that moment, power within me burst forth, permeating every inch of my being.

My eyes snapped open, only to instantly squint at a bright light. I immediately became worried that one of my parents had walked in, but then I saw that the light was coming from myself. I glew brightly for a few more seconds before the light faded, but the feeling of energy all throughout my body was still present.

 _I...I DID IT! FINALLY! Two years of work...showing results at last._

An involuntary face-splitting grin broke out on my face. To any adult, it would look like the face of a child who just received the best gift they could think of. It felt good. Not just the feeling of success, but the also the feeling of my aura itself. It felt like...safety, like there was someone I had absolute faith in fighting alongside me, covering my back.

As the initial excitement wore off, I began to feel extremely tired. I could barely keep my eyes open.

 _What's going on?_

I then remembered that unlocking another's aura left one exhausted, but I hadn't realized unlocking your own would leave yourself in a similar state.

In hindsight, it was fairly obvious.

I didn't even feel my head hit the pillow as I collapsed back into bed.

* * *

I've reached five years of age.

My parents were ecstatic to learn I'd somehow unlocked my aura. Though neither of them were braggarts in any sense of the word, knowledge of my achievement spread quickly through Glade.

People were impressed.

It's not rare to have a child's aura unlocked, I heard that some people in Mistral start training their children in aura-related matters from an early age. What was different about me was that I'd unlocked my aura through my own effort.

Apparently that accomplishment was even more rare than I'd first thought.

Regardless of my slight celebrity status in the settlement, life went on mostly unchanged. My training now incorporates the basics of aura manipulation, something I've found myself picking up at a decent pace. And my mother also saw fit to give me an official practice weapon, a dulled blade fit for my size.

My days are spent among family and neighbors, living mostly in peace. There've been a few times I've caught glimpses of the Grimm in the forests that border our farmlands, but Mother and the town guards do a good job making sure no one's in any danger.

In truth, I'm getting a bit restless now.

My first years here were spent absorbing information, thinking deeply about the future, and preparing myself for said future. Now that I've laid the proper foundation for the path I wish to attempt to follow, the daily routines are beginning to grind a little bit.

I sat on top of the wall surrounding Glade. My father was indoors working, and my mother was out on patrol.

The view wasn't too bad, a wide range of nature to take in all around. But I've read that Vale was quite the sight to behold. Unlike the frontier settlements, the four kingdom's capitals are supposed to be very impressive. Modern in design, while still being unique to their own cultural identity.

To say I was curious would be an understatement. But it'll be awhile yet before I get to see Vale, let alone Mistral, Atlas, or Vacuo.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of engines. Looking around, I spotted an airship making its way towards Glade. We didn't get many airships or bullheads (another type of airship) around here. Even when I do see them, they're usually passing by. But this one seemed to be headed straight for us.

The guards around me also noticed and were mobilizing accordingly. They didn't seem panicked though, so it must be a planned visit.

As the airship drew closer, it began maneuvering to land in a cleared space at the other end of the farmlands. As it turned, I saw the symbol emblazoned on the side. It was white in color, with the side profile of some kind of animal's head, surrounded by a circle.

 _I think I've seen that symbol somewhere before…_

I narrowed my eyes, sifting through my memories for a match.

 _Aha! It was on the news before. The...White Fang, I think. A faunus group._

I went over everything I'd heard on the news. They're a protest group, for faunus rights. Similar to earth's protest groups, they speak out against prejudice and unjust treatment for faunus.

That's a goal I could get behind.

My thoughts flashed back to my first life. There were always tons of protests going on about rights, if not in Japan, then in America, if not there, then in some other country. I was too fat and lazy to do anything, but I didn't disagree with their ideals. Most of the time. There was a period where I spent a lot of time on forums posting pointlessly about "justice" and "fairness", knowing full well that those actions had no real impact.

I sighed. For a life that felt so long ago, some of the memories were just still too vivid. And the shame still burns like an open flame.

I watched as some people disembarked from the airship to meet the guards that were waiting. The interactions seemed amiable, with one of Glade's guards patting a guest on the back as they talked.

I couldn't see too well, but it looked like all the newcomers were faunus, which makes sense. To my surprise, however, not long after the first guests left the airship, a child stepped out. Judging from her size, she must've been around my age. She stood away from the adults, watching shyly as they talked. She had a white shirt on, with a black skirt. On top of her head was a neat little black ribbon that complemented her black hair and cat ears.

In summary, a very cute girl. One that any father would be proud of.

She stood there silently for a few moments, fidgeting in place, before she reached up and undid the ribbon. Perhaps she wanted to adjust it or something, but she picked a bad time to do so. A gust of wind blew through, pulling the ribbon from her hands. She looked at it fly away in shock for a moment, before taking off after it, unaware of her surroundings. None of the adults seemed to notice either, too caught up in their conversation.

 _Oh. That's not good._

The wind was blowing the ribbon towards the forest. The forest where the Grimm were. The one children weren't allowed to go near. I immediately redirected my aura to my feet and jumped off the wall. Lucky for me this wasn't a castle wall or something, so it was a quick fall.

I dashed towards the ribbon as fast as I could, my training with mother paying off quite well. I managed to reach the ribbon just as it left the edge of Glade's fields, about 30 meters from the border of the forest.

The ribbon safely in hand, I turned around to greet the girl, who was catching up, short of breath. Now that she was closer, I could confirm that she was around my age, and had amber eyes. Despite her plain clothing, she managed to be quite the sight.

Once she's older, I could imagine her being an exotic-styled beauty. She'd at home in a long dress that still allowed for easy movement. Perhaps a more gothic costume would work too.

 _Not the time, me. Stop it._

"You should be more careful." I said as I handed the ribbon back to her. She blushed a little, looking down at her feet.

"S-Sorry…" She shuffled around awkwardly. She seemed distinctly and utterly uncomfortable with my presence.

 _She's probably shy around strangers…_

"I'm Rudeu- Rudi Lovac." I shook my head internally, this was the first time I was introducing myself to someone. Everyone in the settlement knew who I was since I was a baby, and we rarely got any strangers around. I'll have to get used to introductions.

"Nice to meet you." I finished, holding my hand out for a handshake.

I'm fully aware that young children don't introduce themselves formally and then go for a handshake, but I was banking on the fact that my odd behavior might help her relax a little bit.

The girl looked up at me in shock, followed by confusion, which then turned into a sort of shy happiness. She reached out tentatively and shook my hand.

"Um...I'm...Blake. Blake Belladonna."

* * *

 **Ending Thoughts**

That was fun, and very, very long. Whew. I'm rather happy with how it turned out, despite it being a bit lacking in action. I personally found the beginning Mushoku Tensei interesting, and I kind of tried to emulate the style with this chapter. To those of you who desire more dialogue and action, never fear, the story will pick up from here!

Now, now, I can already see some questions. I'll just clarify a few things here.

Just because Blake is the first RWBY character introduced, does not mean this is going to be a Rudi x Blake story or something. In fact, I have no honest to god idea what my pairings are, especially since there will be some additional characters outside the RWBY cast as far as my current plans go. Who knows? They're just kids now, and while Rudi might fantasize about what some girls may look like in the future, he is anything but a pedo.

Also, I'm planning to make time pass slowly here, just like in Mushoku Tensei.

For reference, Beacon's standard admission age is 17. When Rudeus Greyrat turned 17, we were halfway through Mushoku Tensei, meaning around volume 12 or 13 out of 24. That's pretty far in, guys and gals. I probably (most definitely) will NOT write that much, but we'll be cruising for a while before Beacon.

Lastly, before the theories start popping up, I'll talk about what the White Fang is at the moment in the story. As some of you may know, the White Fang became violent 5 years before RWBY, meaning Blake was 12. The fact that she's 5 right now means we're still far from that. Just wanted to get that out of the way. My next chapter will probably focus on the White Fang, so you'll definitely be seeing more about my interpretation of the organization.

So in case you haven't figured it out, this story will probably be anywhere from slight to extremely AU in terms of timeline, thanks to Rudi's impact on Remnant. It all depends on the little ideas swirling in my head.

Ahem. Thank you so much if you've made it this far, and if you liked it, please stick around for more!

See you next time!


	3. Juvenile Period - Daughter of the Fang

**Author's Note**

 **I am SO sorry for the delay. There's been a flurry of events in my life since I last updated but things are much, much calmer now. I'll probably be pacing myself week-by-week, and I hope to begin releasing chapters maybe every 2-3 weeks now. I'm also thinking about some of my older stories, but at the same time, I'm also thinking about newer ones as well. We'll have to see what happens there.**

 **Anyways, I still read the reviews I've been getting, and I just want to thank everyone who's commented, favorited, followed, or even just read the story without doing any of the above.**

 **Just a reminder though, since I see a few of you haven't finished Mushoku Tensei, it won't just be the prologue with the major spoilers, they will be everywhere, and I mean everywhere as the story moves forward. I mean, Rudi's gonna be drawing on two lifetimes of experience, experience that consists of spoilers, plot twists, etc. from the main story. So just be careful if you're nitpicky about spoilers.**

 **And with that, thank you for coming, and enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

 **Yet Another World**

 **Chapter 2: Juvenile Period - Daughter of the Fang**

Blake Belladonna.

I briefly analyzed her name. 'Blake' probably means 'black' in some language out there, while her last name was also the name of a plant. I smiled at the cute name, even if the plant was deadly poisonous.

"Ah...thank you...for my ribbon." Blake released my hand and broke eye contact once again, looking down at the ground timidly.

Perhaps timidly is the wrong word. More like uncomfortably.

Her attitude only reinforced my idea that she wasn't used to strangers. This would make sense as she was accompanying the White Fang members that were currently visiting Glade. From what I can remember, they're supposedly a rather tight-knit group.

"No problem. But the forest is bad." I explained, keeping up the persona of a similarly-aged child, "Mom says never to go near it 'cause there's lots of scary things."

"O-Oh…" Blake trailed off, looking at the forest fearfully. She probably guessed what my warning meant right away.

It was then that I realized I had no idea if she's ever faced Grimm before. I've already grown accustomed to the idea of monsters out in the wild, but to most children, Grimm weren't something they would've come to terms with yet. Maybe just a few stories to scare them into behaving. For other children, they might've grown up living in constant fear of an attack, depending on their security situation.

I immediately felt bad.

"Don't worry though, my mom's really strong! And I can fight too!" I pounded my chest proudly with all the youthful bravado I could muster, then I gestured to the training sword at my hip, "I even have a sword!"

I was stared at with wide eyes in response to my declaration.

"You have a weapon…?" Blake's eyes started shining with something akin to admiration, "Are you a huntsman? Already?"

"Eh? Erm…" I coughed into my fist, embarrassed. There was no way a kid like me would be a huntsman yet, but her childish naivete prevented her from realizing that right away. "Actually, it's just a practice sword…"

"Oh...so you want to be a huntsman?" Blake continued curiously, ignoring my embarrassment. It seems her previous discomfort was now replaced with interest.

I couldn't help but think that the inquisitive look on her face suited her much more than awkward discomfort. I was reminded of a small kitten; fitting, given her faunus trait. I was also struck with a sudden wave of nostalgia, memories of my own children during their youths flashing through my mind.

Shaking it off, I replied truthfully, "Yeah, my mom's really cool! I wanna be just like her!"

After I said that, perhaps I stoked some competitive spirit in her or something, she immediately brought up her own parents.

"Well...m-my parents aren't huntsmen...but they're really strong too…!" She declared (relatively) energetically.

I had to hold back a chuckle. I'd instantly thought of the whole "my dad vs your dad" arguments that you'd sometimes see among children. Though that didn't really apply to me so much. My dad was a secondary father figure to most of the kids in Glade, and I respected him too. My previous dad, while not the most ideal role model, was still a hero to many, including me.

My mind then flashed back to the white fang members I'd seen leaving the ship. There'd been a particularly large man with similar features and clothing to Blake.

"Was your dad the big guy with the bushy beard?" I asked, head tilted in a wondering expression.

"Mmhmm!" Blake nodded, pride evident on her face.

"He looks tough!" I didn't exaggerate, the man looked like he could fold the adult Rudeus Greyrat in half, let alone the current me, "My dad used to be a huntsman, but now he writes books. He also cooks for us, so if you guys are staying for a while I can get some snacks for you."

"Really?" Blake's eyes lit up at the idea of food. Leave it to delicious cooking to always snare the attention of young children.

"Yeah, he makes a great Valean roast. Did I mention his cookies? I think he's actually better than Auntie Bonnet who owns the bakery in town." I bragged. At this point, Blake was positively salivating in anticipation.

"Wait, did you say your dad writes books, too?" She shook off her growing hunger, latching on to another statement I'd made.

"Oh yeah, he's a writer. Doesn't make as much money as he did when he was active, though." I shrugged. Blake gave me a weird look, probably confused why I brought up my parent's income, but didn't remark on it.

"Um, I really like reading…" She continued, a wistful expression on her face, "But I haven't read a new book in a while. Since we're too busy…"

"Seriously? Me too!" I grinned, "Hey, like I said before, if you guys are staying in town for a while, stop by my place. Food, books, we got plenty of both."

I almost didn't invite her, but then I realized it was normal for young children to play together. We were at an age where gender hadn't become a barrier yet. So I moved forward without reservations. Honestly, I don't know why I'm being so proactive with this girl I just met, but it might have something to do with my fatherly instincts.

"I-If we have time then...I think I'd li- Kyaa!" Blake began, before a particularly strong gust of wind interrupted us, making the trees of the nearby forest shake violently as they were buffeted. I was reminded that we were still standing a bit too close to the big scary forest, and it was making Blake a bit nervous. She was probably too polite (or shy) to say anything, especially since I didn't seem scared.

Before I could suggest we head back, a siren began wailing, accompanied by the ringing of that big old bell mounted on the town hall's tower. I immediately tensed up. Various messages could be communicated to Glade's residents by using the bell or the siren, since not everyone had scrolls, but the only time both were used at the same time was in the event of a Grimm attack on the town.

This was bad. We were on the opposite side of the farmlands, the southeast corner, to be specific, which was one of the farthest points from the safety of the town walls. I listened for the sound of the bell. After the initial warning, the number of bell rings would indicate the direction the Grimm were approaching from. One for north, two for east, etc.

My blood ran cold as I registered the bell's message.

Six rings. It was a full scale attack from all directions (5 would mean there are Grimm present in all directions, but on a smaller scale). There hasn't been an attack on this level since I was born. A lot of my friends had family members or other friends that perished in that event.

 _No, things should be different this time. That last major attack was the reason the Kingdom of Vale sent mom and dad to live here, two trained huntsman will do a lot more than just militia guardsmen._

"W-What's going on!?" Blake cried out, trembling nervously as she looked around frantically.

"It's the Grimm! Let's go back to the adults!" I grabbed her hand and prepared to pull her towards the clearing where the White Fang bullhead landed-

 _ **Grrr…**_

But I was stopped in my tracks by several bestial snarls. I'd been keeping an eye on the forest to make sure we weren't being approached, but I'd failed to properly scan the fields in front of us. Now there were packs Grimm emerging from the tall rows of wheat and corn, directly in our path to the airship clearing.

"Beowolves…" I grit my teeth. I'm confident I'd be able to force my way through, but I couldn't guarantee the safety of the untrained, aura-locked Blake. The Grimm must've entered the fields from another section of the forest.

It was at times like this I wondered why we built a settlement completely surrounded by a Grimm infested forest. It was hard to keep every inch of the forest border under surveillance.

"Come on, we'll go along the edge of the fields until we hit the town walls. We'll be safe there!" Summoning up my strength, I scooped up (the very lightweight) Blake and made to sprint for it. She let out a pretty cute squeal but held on tight, understanding the danger of the situation.

Before I'd even covered 10 meters, I found my route once again blocked when an Ursa Major emerged from the forest, taking up a position right in front of me. I sighed in frustration and prepared to charge into the crop fields to my right, but to my dismay the beowolves were keeping up, and had pretty much cut me off from entering the farmlands.

That left only one option, the most undesirable one. With an Ursa Major (which a young kid like me couldn't take on, even without a Blake weighing me down) to the west, and Beowolves to the north and east, I'd have to head south. Right into the forest, and going farther from the town and other people.

A quick glance confirmed that my projected entry point into the forest was free of Grimm. Though that really didn't mean much among those crowded, gnarled trunks. For all I know I might charge into a nest of them.

 _Damn it, it's not like I have a choice…!_

I growled fiercely, held my charge closer, and charged in between the trees at full speed.

It wasn't like I didn't have a plan at all, but it was risky. As long as I traveled in straight lines, noting whenever I turned, I should be able to always know my general position relative to Glade and its walls. It would be even better if I could find one of the many game trails that I'd seen on mom's map, but I wasn't holding out for that, since I'd never seen them in person.

What I did know is that if I find one, I'd be able to follow it back towards the town.

Hopefully.

See, there were a lot of smaller trails that lead to dead ends, but there was also a main trail that all the hunters (not huntsman) and trackers used that pretty much lead straight to town. Regardless, the immediate goal was to escape the pursuing Grimm.

The larger Grimm were slowed down as I purposely chose the thickest parts of the forest to escape through. I took a moment in my mind to thank human biology for the small stature of its children. Oh, and faunus biology too, I guess.

 _Why is it that after reincarnating I find myself in deadly situations as a child? Hell, this is even earlier than in my last life!_

Once the sounds of pursuit died away, the only things I could hear were the distant sounds of gunfire and the closer rustling of the forest around us. The Grimm must've been attracted to the more chaotic battle, rather than one calm and one not-so-calm kids.

"Are you alright?" I set Blake down carefully, making sure she could stand on her own.

"Y-Yes…" Blake looked around, fear still evident, "T-The Grimm are gone?"

"Looks like it." I nodded reassuringly, "But we have to keep moving. It's not safe out here."

I checked my own Aura reserves (which was apparently a high level technique to do so accurately, not that I knew that), having subtly expended some to enhance my mobility throughout the whole affair. I could've kept up that speed for maybe 10 more minutes, otherwise I'd be running too low to be comfortable if forced into combat.

So I had a bit of a surplus left, not bad at all.

And if my hunch was correct, the forest should actually be safer right now, since most of the Grimm that hang at the edges would be part of the attack. No telling how long before Grimm from farther away start arriving, though.

I pulled Blake lightly by the hand and we began traveling westwards through the forest, parallel to the town and the farmlands. If we don't find a game trail, we could just head north and with luck I'd run straight back into town or a crop field.

I took a moment to assess how Blake was faring through the ordeal. She was jumpy, as to be expected, but she was also moving even more quietly than I could, and she reacted well to my guidance. All in all, really well for a five year-old kid.

The vice grip on my hand wasn't loosening at all though.

"U-Um...are we lost?" Blake asked tentatively. We'd stopped for a moment so I could look around. I'd done this several times, as continuous movement was more likely to draw attention, and I might miss important signs of Grimm or the trail.

"No." I replied firmly, then sighed, "Just...it's kind of hard to know exactly where we are. We're definitely going the right direction, but that's all I know."

There was still the sound of fighting to the north, so as morbid as that may be, I knew where the town was relative to our location.

"Why don't we climb up into the trees?" Blake suggested, "To get a better view?"

"I can't carry you and climb at the same time."

"I-I can climb by myself, Rudi." Blake frowned. Well, pouted. As if to prove me wrong, she let go of my hand and deftly scaled a nearby tree.

"Wow." I whistled and nodded like an impressed instructor, drawing another weird look from the cat faunus, "I'd need Aura to climb that fast. One second."

I climbed the tree normally, taking several moments longer than Blake.

"You act like my dad sometimes." Blake pointed out when I made it to where she was sitting.

"Really?" I raised a quizzical eyebrow at her statement.

"The faces you make are like a grown-up's. And the way you talk sometimes, too. Back there with the Grimm...you were so adult-like."

Huh, I guess I'm not playing the part of a kid as well as I thought. Well not that I can help it in a life-threatening situation, but before that, too? Maybe I'm still too formal. That's not easy to cover-up, especially since I'm Japanese to begin with. We don't really talk casually to strangers/acquaintances unless it's someone below us on the social hierarchy, and Blake was my age (in this body, anyways).

Also, I'm surprised she considered me deciding to run the hell away was considered "adult-like". Most kids with combat training would've played the knight-in-shining-armor shtick. Which was, of course, a suicide move. It looks like the girl's got something of a realist streak pretty early in life.

Anyways.

Ignoring any other connotations of her calling me "adult-like", I shrugged, "My mom's been training me for over a year now. Maybe I'm becoming more like her already."

"What kind- Shh!" Blake suddenly shushed me, despite her being the one talking, and began looking around frantically, "I hear lots of movement."

I went on full alert, taking a moment to appreciate Blake's enhanced faunus hearing, "Where?"

"Uh, I think they're moving to town, but we're in the way!" That last part was a bit panicked, as Blake realized we were in danger.

"Grimm? A lot of them?" I asked, getting her to focus.

"I think so...it doesn't sound like it's people running, so it should either be Grimm or wild animals running from them." Blake said, ears twitching as she listened.

"Can you move tree-to-tree?" It didn't seem like the trees were too far apart, and judging from her earlier dexterity she might be able to jump between them.

"Yeah, I can." Blake nodded once, confidently.

"Okay, we've been going parallel to Glade for long enough I think, it's time to start heading north. We'll try to get out of the forest and get to the walls." I explained, "Let's go!"

I lead the way as I jumped from branch to branch, silently thanking my various past acrobatic experiences and my aura-enhanced legs. Blake followed behind, and I admit, much more gracefully than I was jumping. Her ears really weren't the only thing cat-like about her.

"Rudi, there's a problem." Blake spoke up worriedly.

"Hm? What's up?" I inquired as we jumped.

"Some of them are catching up, they're going really fast!" Blake exclaimed, panic once more entering her voice.

 _Catching up…? The only small-scale Grimm that should be able to move that fast are...creeps, huh. Not too dangerous, I guess._

I'd already read through all the information I could find on Grimm, and if there's one thing I was good at, it was learning and analyzing.

"If they can catch up to use this easily, they should be creeps. They can't climb trees so we can just keep going." I explained, Blake nodding to show she understood.

A short while later, they came into view below us, snarling and snapping. Some of them even tried to jump up, but this forest's trees were tall enough that they couldn't reach us.

Blake was beginning to get noticeably anxious, and she even almost stumbled a few times, so I slowed the pace a little bit to avoid an unfortunate accident.

Well, this turned out to be a mistake when a particularly large creep noticed my slower pace and rammed the tree I'd just landed on, making me lose my balance. Time seemed to slow as my foot slipped off the branch, I caught a glimpse of Blake standing on a nearby tree, an expression of horror no child should ever have etched on her face.

"Oh sh-" I failed to grasp any nearby branches, and I found myself plunging to the forest below.

"RUDI!" Blake screamed in terror as she watched me fall.

"I'll be fine!" I grunted as I redirected my aura to help me land safely, "Keep going!"

I didn't have time to look up at her as I immediately found myself surrounded by growling, snarling creeps. I sprang up, drawing the sword at my waist as I readied myself for combat. The fall, luckily, didn't drain much of my aura, so I had just about enough to feel safe for now.

Creeps, by and large, were rather weak, bipedal Grimm that vaguely resemble lizards. They had the standard bony plating all over, with a high concentration on the head, for headbutting. They had sharp teeth and claws too, but honestly, their overall threat level is bottom for a species of Grimm. A trained hunter would probably not be in any danger, even surrounded like I was.

Unfortunately, I am not a trained hunter, and I am a child. Not so unfortunately, I have a lifetime (and a half) of experience hidden in my head.

The first creep to charge at me received a rather violent thrust into its underbelly as I ducked under it and used its momentum to impale it on my dull sword. My opponent's charge only served to slice a nicely-sized gash along its length, giving it a fatal wound. This would normally be the part where I get covered in monster guts, and end up smelling like garbage the rest of the day, but luckily for me, Grimm dissolve when they die. With a weak groan, the creep flopped over on its side and began disintegrating. The black blood that spilled on me followed suit.

 _Non-messy fighting. I like it._

I didn't have much time to marvel as the other creeps began moving. These Grimm were predictable, their main attacks being headbutts/bites with their heads or jumps/kicks involving their talons (claws? I dunno). If they had arms, on the other hand, this would've been much more troubling. I'd also read that they sometimes swung their tails, so I'd have to watch out for that.

I pretty much did the same thing I did at first, with some variance based on how the creeps chose to attack me. It boiled down to what was pretty much a bullfight involving multiple bulls. If I was charged at, I'd crouch or sidestep, letting the monster's momentum do the work. If they jumped at me, I just had to make sure I dodged the talons and that they impaled themselves on my sword. In moments, three more creeps joined the on the ground, cold and unmoving.

But I was wary of the large creep, as the older and bigger a Grimm was, the more likely it was that they were intelligent. And that meant dangerous. Along with that large one, there were two smaller grunts on each flank, looking like bodyguards of the leader.

The leader stepped forward and roared, not the most intimidating roar I'd ever heard, but it was still pretty loud. The two bodyguards shrunk back, stepping away several paces. Did the leader want to fight me one-on-one?

I eyed the beast, cautiously switching my stance so that I'd be ready to dodge. I didn't want to try to counter its first attack, just in case it tried something I was unprepared for. It watched me take out four of its underlings, so it might have a plan to deal with me if I did the same techniques again.

The leader suddenly lunged, at first I thought it was going for a headbutt or bite, but it suddenly used its momentum to swing its tail straight at my body.

"Hah!" I grunted as I dropped to the ground, letting the tail pass safely above me. I was about to get back up before the beast could recover, but as I stood I was suddenly slammed with a wall of force from my left. With a heavy grunt, I was carried straight into a nearby tree trunk, the impact knocking the breath from me.

It took me a moment to realize what happened, the leader's entire attack had been a feint. There'd been a third underling creep hidden off to the side, and the leader had somehow coordinated a two-pronged attack on me. The underling had charged right in while I was distracted and headbutt-body-slammed me into the tree.

 _Clever bastards._

I was so out of practice. As I said before, I definitely didn't lack in physical combat knowledge or ability, but my preference was for ranged fighting. The fact that I got caught by such a simple trap would probably earn me an extra-heavy scolding from either my former father, or Eris. Probably both.

Grimacing, I drove my sword right down into an exposed spot on the back of the underling's neck, the dull blade still easily sliding in. It screamed in pain and collapsed, releasing me from being pinned against the tree. But before I even had a chance to catch my breath, the leader had closed the distance and proceeded to send me flying through the air with a heavy tail swipe.

"Grgk!" I felt my vision swim as the air in my lungs was once again forced out as I smashed into the ground. I groaned, staggering to my feet as the leader stomped towards me triumphantly. My aura was nearly depleted by this point, I could probably only take one more hit before these attacks start injuring me, badly.

The Grimm were suddenly distracted by twigs and sticks hitting them from above.

"L-Leave him alone!" Blake's voice called forcefully, though with an audible tremble. I looked up incredulously, the Grimm doing the same (not incredulously, of course, but more with hatred and surprise). Blake was still standing at the top of one of the nearby trees, and she was tearing off sticks from close branches and throwing them down at the Grimm. If I wasn't busy gasping for air, I would've shouted a reprimand at her.

The Grimm acted first. With something that almost seemed like contempt, the large creep ordered its two bodyguards to start attacking the tree Blake was perched on top of. Their savage tackles forced Blake to hold on for dear life. A more experienced fighter probably would've started kiting the Grimm by jumping between trees and continually harassing them. But this was most likely Blake's first time encountering them in a fight.

"Ahhh!" She screamed out fearfully, hunkering down and wrapping herself around the branch she'd been standing on.

The leader turned its attention back to me, but those precious few seconds had allowed me to regain my bearing. I needed to make sure Blake stayed safe, so I chose to go on the offensive. Apparently I caught it off guard, but it didn't dodge as I slammed my dull sword into its headplate, disorienting it. Humans in this world seemed to be stronger than the average human from my last world.

My enemy let out a groan and staggered, and I followed up instantly with an aura-enhanced jump, my blade aimed at that exposed spot on the back of the neck. Even if my blade wasn't sharp, thrusts with momentum could still easily pierce flesh, and with some satisfaction, I felt the blade slide roughly into the leader's neck muscles. It roared angrily before losing strength and sagging to the ground weakly. I ripped my blade free and finished it off with thrust through the eye socket, making sure the brain was destroyed.

Perhaps sensing the demise of their leader, the two underlings returned their attention to me, and were promptly dispatched with ease. After I made sure they were all truly dead and fading, I collapsed against a conveniently located tree trunk, and was promptly tackled once more.

This time, it was a crying Blake, who'd quickly scaled down the tree to see how I was doing.

"Are you okay…!?" Blake asked frantically.

"Alive and uninjured," I grinned, still panting heavily, I then gave her a mild glare, "I told you to keep going, didn't I?"

To my surprise, she returned the glare, "Daddy said friends need to stick together, and never leave each other behind!"

 _I bet if I was an adult telling her she should've run, she wouldn't be arguing back...oh well, I suppose it's a good mindset to have._

My grimace morphed into a rueful smile, "Well, if you'd kept going you could've gotten help from the town. We should be pretty close to the edge of the forest now…"

"Eh?" Blake followed my eyes and saw that we were only maybe 20 meters from the edge of the forest, and beyond that we could see the walls of Glade a little farther in the distance, "B-But...if...what if I didn't make it back in time?"

Honestly, her distraction did buy me some time, so I shouldn't be scolding her…

"What's done is done. Thank you, Blake." I patted her head warmly. She froze up, but didn't seem to mind the contact. In fact, she seemed to enjoy the head rub.

 _Uwah, so cat-like. Faunus and beast-people both enjoy being pet like this, I guess._

"Kyah!" Blake let out a surprised squeal when I began pinching and rubbing her cat ears, slapping my hand away, "W-What...are you doing!?"

"Oh, are they sensitive? I'm sorry." _Oops._

"Yes, they are!" Blake's face was quite red, and now she was shooting a very cute mean look at me.

"Sorry, sorry. We should get going though." I stood up carefully, "The grown-ups are probably looking for us by now."

The sounds of fighting had died out, but with the town in sight we no longer needed to figure out where we were. Blake mentioned that she couldn't hear any more Grimm in the forest, so we headed out of the trees at a leisurely pace. As we approached Glade's southern wall, there was a flurry of movement, and the gates swung open.

"RUDI!" I was once again tackled before I could react, this time, by a pair of very worried parents of mine.

* * *

Kuroi had a duty to fulfill, but anyone could tell she was worried and distracted. Of course, that didn't stop her from easily slaying the charging goliath that threatened to leave a giant hole in the walls. Or the griffon that tried to divebomb the militia members. Or even the alpha-lead megapack of beowolves that had surrounded the settlement.

Yes, it'd be safe to say that despite her motherly concerns, Kuroi's killcount still far exceeded that of the militia and a rusty temporarily not-retired Ros. Huntsman were generally expected to be well-rounded, which she was, but she was so especially good at Grimm extermination that since graduating from Beacon, she found herself exclusively assigned to Grimm-related missions.

Ros was good at killing Grimm, to be expected, but he was more suited to more...clandestine tasks, like a certain dusty old Qrow he partnered with on occasion. Before he married Kuroi and retired.

Both of them wanted nothing more than to look for Rudi, who'd last been seen in the farmlands by the militia. But they couldn't just leave everyone to fend for themselves, not when their duty was to protect the isolated settlement.

As the battle concluded, one of their White Fang guests, a Mr. Ghira Belladonna roared something about a search party, and him and his crew disappeared into the eastern forests. He was apparently looking for his daughter, a motive Kuroi was sympathizing with all too well. She was preparing to follow him after making sure the village was secure, when the guards on the southern side began shouting.

"Ros, Kuroi! It's...It's Rudi! He's coming from the southern forest!" Someone shouted, "And I think he's got the white fang girl with him!"

"Is he hurt!?"

"Nope, not at all!"

Kuroi let out a sigh of relief.

"Someone go get Mr. Belladonna and tell him his daughter's been found!" She ordered, one of the militia around her instantly saluting and sprinting off. She tapped her foot impatiently as the gates opened, resisting the urge to jump over the walls, and all but charged as soon as her little boy was in sight.

"RUDI!" She swept him up in her arms, fussing over him as Ros caught up from behind, "Are you okay? Did the Grimm hurt you? Are these bruises? Why is your hair so messy?"

Perhaps bewildered by the onslaught of questions, Rudi just blinked as his parents felt for injuries all over his body. The faunus girl behind him was cracking a small smile at the sight.

"Rudi, tell us what happened." Ros said after they'd finished checking up on him, "Why were you outside the walls? How did you end up in the forest?"

* * *

I took a deep breath.

At first, I was surprised that Mom showed so much of her doting side in public, but in hindsight, we (me, Blake, along with the whole town) had just gone through a very deadly situation. Her reaction was completely normal.

"I was sitting on the eastern wall, looking over the fields…" I began to explain. The story was fairly straightforward, and I detailed all the actions I took and the logic behind them.

When I was done, both my parents were sporting very different looks. Kuro had something of an angry, worried look on her face, while Ros was beaming proudly.

"You went into the forest on purpose? Why?" Kuro asked, frowning.

"Mom, Blake doesn't have her aura. I didn't want to risk her getting hurt." I replied, having already said this once.

"Still, you probably could've ran past them and met up with us…" She didn't look convinced.

Ros looked like he was about to speak up, but before he could, Blake shyly interrupted.

"Um...Mrs. Lovac..?" Blake's voice was timid, probably because she's addressing unknown adults, "I-I have my hearing, so...I can tell when Grimm are close. And in the forest, we could outrun the Grimm more easily. S-See, the creeps were the only ones that could catch up…"

"The girl's right." Ros kneeled down in front of Blake, who squirmed at the attention, "Rudi said your distraction saved him. Thank you very much for that, Ms. Belladonna."

Blake flushed red at the praise, choosing to hide behind me in embarrassment.

"...Alright." Kuroi admitted, "You did really well, Rudi. My little huntsman!"

She ruffled my hair, probably embarrassed that she'd overreacted a bit. Though in my view, it was just a normal parental reaction.

I wasn't an overprotective parent back then. Nope. Definitely not. Perfectly natural, fatherly behavior.

"Let's go back ins-"

"BLAKE!" A deep, heavy voice roared, and with a small "Eep!" Blake was snatched from behind me into the arms of a rather large, black-haired man. It was Mr. Belladonna, who I saw at the landing earlier. "Sweetie, are you alright? Are you hurt? Where did you go!?"

Oh, I heard those lines not too long ago.

"Mr. Belladonna, we've already checked the children for injuries." Kuroi slipped into a professional demeanor, "I'm sure you'll want to hear the whole story, so let's return inside. Afterwards, we can begin discussing what the White Fang came here for."

There was a slight coldness in Kuroi's voice, which shocked me. Perhaps I was missing something? Now that I think about it, why did the Grimm attack right after the White Fang arrived…?

The tone of voice didn't seem to bother Mr. Belladonna, who nodded once in agreement as he continued fawning over Blake.

We walked back into town, heading for...my house, surprisingly. A quick scan of the buildings around me revealed that several houses were damaged, if not close to destroyed, and the town hall had a gaping hole in its side.

Well, that explains it. Most of the fighting should've taken place on or outside the walls, but looks like flying Grimm still caused damage to the town. And my family was pretty much the authority in town, replacing the old mayor that passed away a little while ago. Without the town hall, my place would be the next choice.

Somehow our house was undamaged completely, and everything was where it was last time I was in the building.

"You kids go upstairs for now, okay? We'll come get you when we're done, I'll have snacks ready," Ros gently guided me and Blake (only after her father finished his own checkup) up to my room, shutting the door behind him. On the way in I'd snatched several books from Dad's library so Blake could take a look at them.

Huh. Me, a girl, my room. I suppose I should be glad this body is still so young. I suddenly thought about the time Eris and I-

 _Ohh no you don't, you're stopping that train of thought right now, me._

Ignoring my internal strife, I placed my pile of books on the floor and turned to Blake.

"Hey, what kind of books do you li-" I stopped when Blake held up a finger to her lips, telling me to be quiet.

"I can hear the adults talking still, if you want to listen." Blake explained, tilting her head at me.

Ooh, a little eavesdropper here, huh?

"Uh...do you do this often?" I gave her a bemused smile, making her blush.

"I-I can't help it…my hearing is really good…" Blake replied defensively.

"Haha," I laughed good-naturedly, but I really was curious, especially given how cold my mom was with Blake's dad. It wasn't like we were spies either, just two curious kids in the eyes of the adults, "Sure, let's listen in.'

"Okay...um...they're saying…"

* * *

"I apologize!" Ghira Belladonna had instantly bowed his head once everyone was seated for the meeting.

"What for?" Ros blinked confusedly, looking around. The people in the room consisted of his dear wife Kuroi, the captain of the militia (who was doing his best to fade into the wall, he was just a simple farmer, damn it!), Ghira Belladonna, and another white fang member, a woman named Sienna Khan.

"Leader!" Sienna gasped at the display.

"It was our fault, it's a bad time of year for us to visit due to the annual increase in Grimm in the forest, yet we brought people who aren't entirely comfortable with visiting humans." Ghira stated, explaining to Ros.

"'Comfortable'? Those two got into a full scale fight with one of our guards. If they weren't unarmed, I'm sure someone would've died. The guard didn't even do anything to them!" Kuroi growled, but restrained herself from going further, "I hope they're back on the ship?"

"Yes, they're in confinement." Ghira admitted, "Their son is still out and about though. He was on the ship earlier, but now he's with the other Fang members setting up camp for the night."

The original agreement concerning the Fang's visit was to pick up faunus (and some human) supporters for a rally up in Vale. They would also get a chance to disembark and stretch their legs, as it was no short flight between Vale and Menagerie. With the Grimm attack however, the Fang decided to spend the night. They had plenty of supplies for camping on the airship, and many were invited to spend the night within the walls too.

"I trust their son won't try to impale one of the villagers on his horns?" Kuroi growled.

"Look here, human-" Sienna began, but Ghira cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"Adam's a good kid, he knows not all humans are bad." Ghira reassured her. He didn't add that the kid didn't quite disagree with his parents either. But he was still young and impressionable. Hopefully this visit and the trip to Vale would allow him to get some outside perspective.

"Wait, so the Grimm attacked because of a fight?" Ros had an incredulous look on his face, "A simple street fight wouldn't attract that many."

Ghira looked at Kuroi who just scowled, content to let him explain. Sighing, he began, "The Taurus couple um...scared the guard very badly. And there was an audience of villagers, including the guard's son, it would seem. To many of them, the intent of the fight seemed to go far beyond simple bodily harm."

"..." Ros frowned, "And you work with these people?"

"The Fang is shorthanded at the moment," Ghira growled, "But you're right, I should be more careful when vetting new recruits. Next time they get out of hand, I'll deal with them myself."

The promise in his voice served to relax the tension in the room. Though Sienna was looking noticeably disgruntled.

"Okay, so tomorrow everyone who wants to join the rally is going, right?" Ros moved the conversation forward, "Do you have enough room, or do we need to get another airship?"

"We should have enough room, it's a former freight transport so its bigger than the average airship" Ghira replied.

"Why did you bring your daughter, by the way?" Kuroi asked curiously, "This is going to be a pretty major rally, isn't it?"

"Blake wanted to go," Ghira replied simply, "I think it would do her some good to see what it's like outside that desert island."

"I see…" Kuroi frowned, not entirely approving of bringing a child to a potentially hostile environment, or at least an emotionally charged environment.

"Speaking of which, I also wanted to ask if any other families wanted to go. It would a show of solidarity if there were human children coming along with the faunus children…" Ghira pointed out, and quickly added, "But with the Grimm attack, I understand completely if no one has time to volunteer. I just wanted to get the word out."

"I'll ask, but as you said, things will be busy around here for now." Kuroi nodded.

"Then, the next thing to discuss is the matter the Fang's request for extra food and water…"

* * *

"Ah, they're getting to some boring stuff." I declared, motioning Blake to stop repeating what the adults had been saying.

At least now I know the reason for the Grimm attack, the spike of fear from a deadly fight must've triggered a mass of Grimm from the forest to come to Glade. Which was also caused by a pair of violent, human-hating faunus among that came along.

I let out a sigh, I knew Grimm were attracted to fear, but I didn't think they were that sensitive. I mean it wasn't like that potentially dangerous fight should've elicited pure terror, maybe a spike of horror and fear for the guard's safety...maybe it was the number of people? It just goes to show I can't underestimate anything in this world.

As for Blake, she didn't show much reaction to the conversation, aside from a gasp when they were talking about the Adam kid. They probably knew each other.

"Still, visiting Vale, huh…?" I muttered to myself.

"You want to go?" Blake returned her attention to me, head tilted.

"Yes. I do." I stated honestly, but since I'm still a child, I don't think I'd be able go. "But...my parents aren't free to go."

"It'd be nice...if you could come along." She looked down at my words, her ears flattened, "I've never been to a place with so many humans...and um...Adam said a lot of them don't like us…"

Ah, yes, that would be something he'd pick up from his parents.

"The ones who don't like faunus are just the loud ones. Most people don't mind. In fact, I bet they'd like you, just like any other person." I reassured the nervous girl.

"Mmm...but, I heard that humans call us animals." She didn't look convinced.

"Did I call you an animal?" I raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Eh!?" Blake's cat-eyes blinked in surprise, "W-Well...no. But you're different...I think."

"Oh? I'm different, huh? And how many humans have you met?" I asked her teasingly.

"...Just you." She replied, pouting adorably.

"See? You just be yourself and see how things go. Someone who's mean to you is probably mean to everyone." I knew that wasn't always the case, but bigotry could range from simple to complex in nature. Doesn't make it right, though. "Besides, who could hate a brave, cute girl like you?"

"...!" Her face turned redder faster than a light switching on.

Oops. That was a little bit too much. Now, feign ignorance.

"Uhh...you alright?" I asked innocently.

"Y-Yes…!" Blake turned away from me, muttering to herself "So weird...Daddy calls me cute all the time…but..."

Ahh yes, the difference between a family compliment and one from a friend. She's much too young though, I should really refrain from doing things like that.

Please ignore the fact that my first wife, Sylphy, said she'd been in love with me since we met at 5 years old. Seriously, please. I'll start missing her even more if I keep thinking about her…

"Rudi?" Blake had recovered enough to face me again, "Do you think...you still might be able to go? I'd like it if you could…"

"Maybe...we'll have to see." I answered, not wanting to commit to anything.

I really did want to go though. If I get the chance, I'll bring it up with my parents.

"So, I'm guessing you've never seen this before?" I moved over to the pile of books and picked one out, titled _Valean Fairy Tales Volume 1_ , "You're from Menagerie, right?"

"How'd you know?" Blake blinked in surprise.

"Just a guess. Looks like I'm right though." I grinned, handing her the book. It was fairly obvious that if she didn't have any contact with humans, there was only a handful of places she could've hailed from.

"Ohh...I've read some of these but…" Her eyes lit up as she scanned the table of contents and saw quite a few unfamiliar titles, "Wow, thank you!"

"No problem." I grabbed a book for myself, not really caring what I picked up since I've read Dad's entire library already.

"Um...actually, do you want to read with me? I like talking about stories…" She looked away shyly, trying her best to show that regardless of my answer it wouldn't affect her. How cat-like.

By this point I was beginning to form a solid picture of the cat faunus, and honestly, I was impressed. With only a little proper guidance, she'd grow up to be a fine young lady. She obviously had good moral guidance, judging from her display in the battle earlier. She's in-shape and quite athletic for her age, though I'm not sure how much of that skill is natural versus trained. And personality-wise, she's thoughtful, calm, and kind.

I'm rather certain that she'd be the type to overthink things, but that isn't always a bad thing. With someone to keep her from burning herself out, she'd be the solid voice of reason for a group of adventurers. Like a more withdrawn Roxy...

*Ahem* Anyways, I've been requested to read a book together.

"Sure. Let's read." I gave a short, good-natured laugh, put my book back in the pile, and settled down next to her.

"Okay, here goes…" Her voice was level as she began to read, but her ears were twitching excitedly.

How cute.

(If she also had a tail this picture would be a critical hit for sure)

We managed to get a few stories in by the time the adults finished their conversation. By then it was almost dinnertime, but I could smell Dad's cookies from upstairs. Hopefully they wouldn't make us wait to eat them.

"Kids, come on down!" Ros called.

"Coming!" I returned the shout, ushering Blake out of the room and down the stairs.

"...!" Blake's eyes widened upon seeing the steaming plate of cookies on the table.

"You're free to dig in." My dad gave her a warm smile before turning to me, "Rudi, Mr. Belladonna would like to have a word with you."

I turned to face the tall faunus man, who was watching his daughter with a happy smile. He looked at me and gestured for me to follow him into the front hall.

"I heard about what you did for my daughter." He said seriously, "I owe you my thanks, young man."

"I just...did the first thing that came to mind." I answered honestly, flushing a bit from the praise.

"Still, not many humans would do that for a faunus." He pointed out, "Most would've just protected themselves."

"Really?" I made my eyes widen, but my mind was eager for some firsthand accounts. I'd been living under the impression that bigots and discriminators were a minority, just like Earth, but this was a good opportunity to find out if I was mistaken.

"..." Mr. Belladonna gave me a serious look, probably trying to decide whether he should sugarcoat the truth or not. Something about me must've convinced him, but he continued, "Out here, everyone is close and friendly because it's a small town and you have to work together. In bigger cities, you will find more people who don't care, or outright hate us."

I figured that would the case, but my question was to what extent? What was the ratio of sympathy to indifference to hate? I mean, in my last world, there was a whole nation that followed a religion that advocated genocide of an entire race. And while not everyone that lived there was that extreme, there were a LOT of them.

But for now, I'll just reply to Mr. Belladonna.

"I don't hate faunus…" I replied sadly, channeling a bit of what I was really feeling into a forlorn, childish expression.

"Of course not." He clapped me on the back, "If only more people were like you, boy. If you ever need anything, let me know. A man never forgets his debts."

We returned to the dining room, where the rest of my family + Blake were setting up for dinner. I noticed that the other White Fang member was gone, along with the captain of the militia.

"Rudi~~~" Blake looked like she was about to cry, and about half the cookies were gone, "You get to eat these all the time…?"

"I wish…" I retorted, enjoying the scene of a cute child happily snacking, before taking a seat next to her and helping myself as well.

"This is just a treat." Kuroi explained to Blake, "It's not good to eat too many."

Blake just nodded, too busy enjoying the bites of heaven that were my father's cookies. After she had downed a few more, my dad removed the plate with a promise that we could finish it off after dinner.

The meal was pretty standard fare, some buttery steamed vegetables (carrots, broccoli, etc.) and a nice chunk of roast meat, but we had two extra guests so the amount of food was greater than normal. I was surprised when a few minutes into the meal Ros got up and came back with a green bean casserole, fresh out of the oven. Along with more meat.

"After I walked Ms. Khan back to the other White Fang members, I asked around to see if anyone wanted to visit Vale right now." Kuroi spoke up, addressing Mr. Belladonna, "Some families liked the idea, but their houses sustained damage during the fight. I don't think you'd want to delay your departure any longer, so they offered to come along next time the Fang stops by."

"That's too bad." He hummed in response, "Bah, it was just a last-minute idea. I appreciate you trying."

The table lapsed back into a comfortable silence. I glanced over at Blake who was eyeing me, trying to urge me to bring up my desire to visit Vale. I did have something of a plan of approach, but I was still (very) young, and my parents, while not overprotective, did keep a careful eye out.

But there's no harm in trying, I suppose.

"Umm...Mr. Belladonna, you and Blake are going to Vale, right?" I asked innocently, ignoring the surprised look on Blake's face.

"That's right, boy." He answered, receiving a glare from Kuroi, "Ahem, I mean, that's right, Rudi."

"Aww, I'm so jealous!" I complained in the most five year old-like way I could, "I've always wanted to see Vale...I mean, we have some pictures, but…"

"Well, you're free to come along! You'll be safe with me, it's the least I could do!" The man straightened up and hit his chest confidently, before adding, "Uh, that is, if your parents are okay with it."

 _Ahhh! That was way too direct! Blake, your dad's an idiot, I'm sorry to inform you._

No one noticed my inner turmoil as they thought about how to respond. Kuroi was shooting the most incredulous look at Ghira, while Ros looked thoughtful, and Blake was nodding. I decided to get a word in before anyone else did.

"Really!? That sounds like a lot of fun!" I put as much childish excitement, energy, and motivation as I could into both my voice and my body language. My statement got a rise out of my parents, in different ways.

"You are much too young to be without parental guidance, Rudi." Kuroi replied adamantly.

"Now now dear, we let Rudi wander around without supervision for long periods of time, you know?" Ros countered, apparently taking my side.

Not sure exactly why, but hey, I appreciate it.

"This is different, and you know that." Kuroi glared at her husband.

"Yes, I do." Ros returned her glare with a pointed look, "He'd be going to a safe city with plenty of people, with one of the best faunus fighters I've ever seen going with him. Not to mention said fighter has already offered his protection, and Rudi gets along with his daughter."

Mr. Belladonna nodded at first, then frowned when he heard the last part. He shot me a quick, suspicious glance.

 _Hey now...don't be suspecting a five year old of wooing your daughter…_

"More people doesn't mean more safe…" Kuroi paused, looking thoughtful, "Besides…"

"Let me say one more thing," Ros stopped her, "Knowing our son, do you think he would be irresponsible or careless in any way?"

"That…" My mother was forced to concede that argument.

Heheh, there we go. I'm a model child if I do say so myself. Which I do.

"But," She continued, "What if something happens beyond his control? Unexpected incidents can happen at any time, you and I both know that. And we won't be there for him…"

Dang it, that was a good point too.

But father already had a reply ready.

"And that brings us back to him being under Ghira Belladonna's protection. I think that's pretty safe, in my opinion."

Mr. Belladonna nodded, "I will protect this boy with my life. It'd be shameful to not return what's offered."

He then continued, "It's not my business, but I think children should see the world while they're young. It would do wonders for them to see firsthand the planet they live on."

"..." Kuroi was silently contemplating now, a scowl on her face.

"Umm...I really want to go to Vale with Rudi…" Blake spoke up, her voice barely above a whisper. She shot puppy-eyes (or kitten-eyes) at everyone in the room, which pretty much melted my heart instantly.

It apparently did the same for my mom because her expression softened, "...Alright." "

""Yay!"" Blake and I shouted at the same time, the adults all smiling at the children's cheering.

"But Rudi,", Mom continued, "You have to listen to everything, and I mean everything, Mr. Belladonna tells you to do. If I hear that you didn't, you'll be in big, and I mean big, trouble."

 _Yes, I know you mean it, mother._

"I will! Oh, thank you soo much! I can't wait!" I gave a wide and genuine smile. To my side, Blake's face was also alight with a happy expression.

Indeed, planned and desired trips are much better than being knocked unconscious and forcefully sent to live in another city away from your childhood friend (or love, in her case), even if it turned out to be for the best.

 _Sylphy's still my waifu~! Literally, I mean she really was my wife. Ahh, I miss her...I really need to stop reminiscing..._

"How long will you be in Vale?" Kuroi asked.

"It's about a day between here and Vale, and we'll just be there for one day for the rally. So in total it'll be around three days before Rudi gets back." Ghira explained.

"That's not bad…" She nodded, along with Dad.

"Vale's gonna be so cool~" I began cheerfully chatting with Blake as the adults hammered out the details. Oh, the perks of being a kid, you don't have to plan anything yourself.

"Can we borrow some of your books to read on the way there?" Blake looked just as excited, having someone she trusted along on a trip to a strange unknown place raised her spirits greatly.

"Go ahead, I don't mind." Ros interjected, giving us both a warm smile before returning to the other conversation.

We finished up dinner (and the cookies), and picked out a few books. It was an indescribable feeling I got, as I watched the young cat girl pick out books excitedly with cookie crumbs still on her face.

Her father had to hold her back, as apparently our library was more extensive than the ones she was used to, and if she had her way, she'd have her father's weight in books. With a small pout, Blake returned the books she deemed the least important.

It seemed that over the course of the evening, our families managed to grow closer. I watched as Ros and Ghira talked amiably, probably about dad stuff, and as Kuroi (very noticeably) began to dote on the adorable Blake, like she was her own daughter or something.

Honestly, it made me feel elated somehow. But alas, there was no room for them, and they already had a place to sleep.

"Umm...see you tomorrow, Rudi!" Blake bowed one last time as we walked the Belladonna's out of the house.

"Bye, have a good night!" I replied just as cheerfully, "Thanks again for taking me along, Mr. Belladonna!"

Mr. Belladonna nodded in acknowledgement, before glancing suspiciously between me and Blake again.

Just drop it already old man (I'm one to talk...), there's no childish crushes here.

"Rudi, you're sleeping with us tonight," Kuroi declared once we were alone.

"Eh? Whoa!"

Before I could do anything, Ros scooped me up and hefted me onto his shoulders, "Let's go champ! We're gonna keep you for as long as we can."

* * *

Later on that night…

"Rudi, always keep an eye out. In a big city like Vale, people are more dangerous than Grimm." Kuroi was explaining as all three of lay in bed, "Someone might try to steal something from you. Or...well, just be careful."

 _Is she worried about kidnapping? That's an issue wherever I go, huh._

I remembered the occasion that caused Eris to begin to accept me into her life: The attempt at kidnapping her by those thugs, and my first life-and-death battle as I tried to protect her. That was definitely one of the most frightening things I'd faced at that point.

"Okay, I won't let the bad people do anything!" I declared with confidence.

"I know you won't. You're such a good, smart boy." Her voice sounded a bit pained. As a former fellow parent, I could sympathize with the overwhelming worry one could feel towards their children.

Dad was already passed out, snoring loudly, with his arm draped protectively over both me and Mom.

"...Gods, keep him safe…" She suddenly prayed softly. I could barely hear the words.

I reached out and grabbed her hand tightly, to try and reassure her.

"Good night, Mom."

"...Good night, Rudi."

As we drifted off to sleep, I could see the skyline of Vale in my head, and I couldn't help getting excited all over again at being able to see it in person already.

Still, I'll have to be careful. Big cities mean crime, and with a civil rights movement going on while I'm there, there's a pretty good chance it might not be peaceful too.

I want to know more about the world though, and see it for myself. This will be the first step in accomplishing that.

I'll do my best to forge a good life, for the second time, with my third chance.

I refuse to do anything less.

* * *

 **Next up, we go to Vale!**


End file.
